Predator's Guardian
by Tri27
Summary: Not for the first time ever, Judy takes up the task of looking after a 14-year-old fox. Of course, she didn't view it as a challenge (having over a hundred younger siblings did help), but unexpected complications arise. Will Judy be a capable guardian for her new, long-term guest? (Rated M for inexplicit violence)
1. Long Term Guest

The fox dashed down the stairs, nearly jumping over every flight, and bolted through the door leading into the carpark.

"Stop!" Judy yelled, chasing after the fox just as fast.

"You two are going to break your necks running down at that speed," Nick warned as he followed, sliding through the closing door. The suspect was already at her car. A pop echoed through the carpark as she pulled open her car door, and entered hastily. Judy ran even faster, and hurled herself toward the car, but the fox had already shut the door. The bunny broke the impact with her paws, bouncing off the car while the vehicle jerked violently and shot forwards. Soon, it was on a free run, but not before Judy latched onto the back.

"Hey! No! Carrots, let go!" Nick yelled, and pointed a dart gun at the car. After aiming briefly, he fired at a rear tire. The dart missed his target and was sliding off the car when Judy caught it. The car was already going at a reckless speed, with its driver desperate to escape. Holding onto a protruding part in the car's design, Judy used her free paw and jammed the dart into the car wheel. A hiss sounded as the wheel began to deflate. Much too slowly. Judy held onto the car tightly as it zoomed up the ramp to the exit. It slammed through a barrier, and broad daylight flashed down as it escaped the darkness of the car park. Nick fished out his walkie talkie, and called for backup while running after the car.

On the surface, Judy was still interested in catching the suspect, but she couldn't do it as she hung on for dear life on the swerving and jerking vehicle. A few gasping animals watched as the car shot past, not sure of what to do. The car slowed down as it hit a more congested area, and going at a more bearable speed. Taking her chance, Judy climbed onto the top of the car, and stretched toward the right side of it to get at the passenger seat's door. The fox inside caught her trying to do so, and locked the doors with a press of a button.

Too late.

The officer burst in, and slammed the door shut.

" _Stop the car_!" She yelled, an obviously futile effort as the fox continued. The car entered an open road, and immediately, it sped up, throwing Judy back against the passenger seat. Judy growled, and reached for her tranquilizer, but he driver spotted her action, and swerved right, and then left, throwing the officer against the doors. The latter grabbed on to the driver's seat, and plucked the dart out from its launcher, holding it tightly in one paw. In one swift action, Judy stuck the dart into the fox's neck with controlled force, and the predator hissed and slammed the brakes. The car screeched to a violent halt, throwing Judy against the back of the driver's seat. But the tranquilizer had done its work. The suspect was fast asleep. Sirens soon made themselves clear as police cruisers entered the scene, choking the car's only two logical exit routes. Judy opened the door at the driver's seat, and pushed out the sleeping fox.

"You're one crazy bunny," Nick greeted, lifting the fox up with a fireman's carry, heaving as he did so.

"And you need to run more often,"

Judy retorted, rubbing a bruise on her cheek. "Multiple places are hurting," she groaned as she flinched from the pain.

"Any broken bones?" Nick asked. When the rabbit shook her head, Nick snorted.

"Then you're fine, Carrots. Come on, let's take this bugger back."

"Ugh, I'll give _you_ a broken bone..." Judy grumbled, following him to the nearest police cruiser. The surrounding officers took it as their cue, and returned to their cars.

Judy and Nick watched through the one-way glass panel as Bogo interrogated the suspect. Her name was Emma Scarlet. She was a sleek fox, with an unnaturally dull fur color, like as if she was placed in a computer and painted a shade grayer. Her eyes seemed restless and unsettling dark rings were present under them. She was caught for stealing hundreds and thousands from her company, and from her looks, Judy assumed that she had some sort of drug problem. Chief Bogo exited the interrogation room, slamming the door behind him.

"We have a problem," he announced. "She's a drug addict. And she is going to jail for multiple theft cases, and other charges."

"Okay, what's the problem?" Nick pressed.

"I am getting to it. She has a fourteen-year-old son."

Judy and Nick exchanged glances.

"Wha..what about the father?" Judy asked.

"More good news regarding that. He passed away before the kid was even born. Their relatives are all out of contact... We'd have to give the kid to social services."

"What? There has to be something else!"

"No, there isn't," Bogo replied plainly. As much as he was hiding it, Bogo wasn't okay with the whole situation either. Things like that could easily ruin a child's life, but what other choice was there? He snorted.

"There is one way for it. If someone _miraculously appears_ and agrees to take care of him until his mother is released," he said, skeptical that it was going to happen anyway. "In my experience, it has never happened."

He turned to leave, but Judy stopped him.

"Well, actually, I could take care of him," she offered. Nick gaped at her from behind, while Bogo stared at her from the front.

"What? He's a fox. And I'm guessing he's possibly bigger than you," Bogo said, almost humored by Judy's offer.

"How bad can it get anyway? It's not permanent..."

"With the combined charges, I estimate that our dear Emma here will be jailed for maybe 5 years, and that's if the trial proceeds immediately. If not, it could take six to ten years, if the judge is strict."

"Well I can't just watch the kid go into social services like that," Judy argued.

"Fine. You can. I don't care. I can give you the paperwork for it af..."

" _Mom!_ "

The officers looked up from their desks as the voice hit everyone like a ton of bricks.

"Kid! Kid! You're not supposed...to be...up there!" The distinct (and out of breath) voice of Benjamin Clawhauser echoed up the stairs.

"What is the meaning of this?" Bogo demanded, glaring at Clawhauser for failing to catch the boy. It was a young fox, dressed in a school uniform, probably about the age of fourteen.

"Is my mom here?" He asked, seemingly desperate to know. Judy, Nick, and Bogo exchanged worried glances.

"Is your mom Emma Scarlet?" Nick asked, bending down to reach the teen's height.

"She... She really is here?" He asked.

"I'm... I'm sorry kiddo..."

"Wha...what's gonna happen to her?"

His question put everyone at a loss for words. He already seemed upset enough, and it seemed as though anything could crack him. And nobody thought of anything at the moment to say. He looked down, sighing, and slumped as he stood there. The kid looked small and vulnerable the way he was. Judy couldn't feel anything but pity.

"It was only a matter of time," he murmured, shutting his eyes. Surprisingly, no tears emerged. He opened his eyes again, and this time, it was evident that he was frowning.

"It's going to be okay," Judy comforted, placing a paw gently on his shoulder. His frown deepened, and he turned away.

"What's gonna happen now?" He asked, seemingly bracing himself for a hard answer.

"While your mother is...away, you will be taken care of by Officer Hopps here," Bogo explained in the best comforting voice he had, gesturing at Judy. Like as if a button was pressed, the fox gaped at the rabbit with an extreme change in emotion so drastic that one would have thought something even more shocking happened.

A silent word escaped his mouth, caught by nobody but Judy.

"What?"

It was a scene when Emma Scarlet was escorted out of the interrogation room, and nobody had the heart to deny her one last look at her only child for a long time to come. The young fox was secretly blinking back tears as his mother was finally escorted out of sight. It was hard to feel any one emotion for him. His mother was not the most caring. Scarlet had spent way more time working and going on strange little trips on her own to really change much in his life. To him, she was probably the one that simply provided shelter, food and water, and nothing else. But yet, she was still his parent, and it pained him to see someone that he was with for so long, suddenly disappear...as good as permanently. He had always walked back from school. Although his mother had a car, she never seemed to have the time to pick him up or drop him off. And that was when he saw police cars surrounding his mother's car, along with another fox placing her motionless body in one of them. And so he followed, and traced them all the way back to the station. It had been a simple task to outrun the unfit receptionist at the counter. But now, he wondered if he would've felt better if he had simply listened to the cat and returned home instead.

"Come on," Judy said, desperate to take his mind off the situation. "Let's go to your place and pick up your stuff okay?"

He looked at her (because he was indeed just a tiny bit shorter), considered briefly, and then nodded slowly.

"Don't worry there champ, you're going to be alright," Nick comforted, following rabbit and the schoolboy out of the office.

The engine of Nick's car hummed as it drove through Zootopia. The silence was suffocating, and it seemed to absorb the air in the car as it thickened with awkwardness.

"What's your name?" Judy asked, looking back from the front seat. The young fox waited for a moment before replying.

"Isaac."

More awkward silence.

No other conversations took place until they reached their destination. It was a small apartment, probably with two small bedrooms, an excuse of a living room (or corridor) connecting the rooms together, and a toilet. It was probably about three times the size of Judy's old apartment, but even then, that was small for two people. The rabbit had saved up for a new apartment, and it was significantly larger than her last one. More than enough room to fit in another being. It didn't surprise Judy when Isaac took less than ten minutes to pack up his belongings.

"That's all?" Nick asked. The younger predator nodded, and headed back to the car. All he carried was a laptop, a box full of papers and dusty books, and a school bag. Judy held a separate box of clothing, while Nick gathered random bits and pieces that he'd thought a kid would want or need.

The journey back was more or less quiet. Nick and Judy were careful not to incite anything, and Isaac wasn't in any mood to get them to do otherwise. They had gotten dinner outside, and then Nick helped Judy unpack Isaac's belongings into a spare room.

"You sure that you're okay for now?" Nick asked once more. It was late, and he had to return home, but even then, he didn't want to leave Judy with anything big left to do.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Isaac had a long day, I'm sure he's tired," Judy replied.

"Good luck Carrots," Nick did a mock salute, and left.

"Why am I unpacking my stuff into an empty room, and sleeping in another one?" Isaac inquired as Judy showed him his sleeping quarters.

"Well, it's temporary, I'll move a bed into that room tomorrow."

Isaac looked around the room, noticing the details. Isaac grunted in reply, and got onto the bed, sitting up on it.

"All good?" The rabbit asked. Isaac lowered his head, hiding a frown, which Judy easily caught.

"What's wrong?" She pressed. If she knew anything about solving problems, she knew that talking about them helped.

"Everything is wrong..." He murmured. "My mom was arrested, I live somewhere else now... And the bunny that arrested her is taking care of me." His voice slowly became inaudible as he finished. Judy was speechless. Her mind voided itself of any ideas to comfort him. What he said, gave her the impression that she was the problem. His eyes met hers, and she felt a pang of guilt. He might as well have stabbed her with a stake.

"I...I'll give you some time alone for now," she finally said, and left the room, closing the door on her way out.

That night she had her night's sleep on the television couch. And though it was arguably comfortable enough to spend the night on, she didn't sleep well that night.

She simply couldn't.


	2. New life

The morning was not the best one for Judy.

For the very first breakfast she made for Isaac, the egg was over cooked, and instead of something soft enough to make scrambled eggs, Judy ended up with a hard boiled egg. Being a vegetarian, she had never cooked anything with eggs.

And so, Isaac's first meal in his new home consisted of three similar tasting over cooked eggs, and a glass of instant orange juice. Isaac finished his breakfast without saying anything, but the rabbit could've sworn that he looked dubiously at the food.

And second, she only recalled that the sandwich she packed him had virtually nothing that a predator would actually eat, after Nick had sent the kid to school. Which fox in the right mind was going to eat a sandwich with only lettuce and tomatoes?

And to add insult to injury, Nick simply laughed at her.

"What's so funny, I probably ruined his day!"

"They sell food in their school canteen, Judy," Nick laughed.

" _What!_ Since _when?_ And I didn't give him any money to spend!"

"Calm down, Carrots. I did."

"What else do you guys eat for breakfast? I don't think I can ever bring myself to make eggs ever again."

"Don't ask me. I eat anything anytime. Anything edible can be served in any meal to me."

"Ugh, like those stupid fried crickets?"

"They aren't stupid Carrots, they're savory. The snack of predators," Nick smirked.

"Wait, are insects part of your diets?"

"Chicken will do."

 _"What!"_

"Hey hey, you should've thought things through when you took the job."

"I am a horrible parent..."

"Carrots, it's not even your first ten hours yet."

"Yea! And within that time, I gave him a vegan snack, three hard boiled eggs for breakfast, I forgot his lunch money..."

"Did you even make yourself breakfast?"

Judy slapped her forehead.

"I'll take that as a no then. Come on let's grab ya something to chew on before work."

* * *

The pair had more or less bland everyday duties to attend to. Minor complaints, aimless patrols and neighbor feuds.

"Geez, the old idiot can't even tolerate such a small thing..." An bull groaned as he shut the door. It was a small thing, apparently the neighbor below them heard their heavy steps, and got annoyed by it. Judy walked back to her patrol car, where Nick was already waiting.

"Well, at least this one didn't react like a moron," Nick commented as she entered. Nick handled one of the residences, and the platypus that opened the door literally asked him how he got the job. If Nick was offended by it, he hid it well.

"You think...maybe we should've held Isaac back from going to school today?" Judy asked, her mind wandering off to worry about the young fox.

"Well, he didn't seem upset about it at all," Nick replied. But what Judy said did remind him that they probably should have occupied him with something other than schoolwork. "Well, it's 30 minutes to our lunch break. Where'd you wanna go?"

"Lunch... Hold on. What time is Isaac dismissed?"

The duo stared at each other, devoid of words.

"Uh... My classes used to end at 4..."

Nick scratched his head, peering at his watch. It was currently 1:37pm.

" _4pm_? He is like... _Twelve!_ "

"He's fourteen. Maybe we should go check the school," Nick suggested.

"But we're on duty..."

"If you don't say anything, nobody knows and nobody cares."

And with that, Nick stepped on the gas, and the car whizzed toward the elementary school.

Meanwhile at the school, Isaac was already dismissed, and was simply scowling at his packed lunch. A tomato and lettuce sandwich. _What does she think I am, a cow?_ He grumbled and kept the lunch in his bag. Luckily for him, Nick gave him enough allowance for a simple meal. Or a pack of snacks. And it was obvious which one he picked. He never had the money to buy junk food from the canteen before, and now that he had the money, he felt like getting some. And so, for lunch, he settled for a bag of spicy chips.

He sauntered out of the school, still munching on his lunch, when it struck him. He had no idea what to do now. He had no phone, no idea how to get back to Judy's apartment...

And so he headed for the police headquarters.

A police cruiser parked in front of the school, and two rather frantic (or as frantic as Nick gets) animals rushed out.

"I think they were already dismissed," Nick inferred as he saw the countless students walking off with or without a parent.

"No, no, no, where did he go?" Judy rushed in, drawing shocked glances from the surrounding crowds.

"Carrots! You're still in uniform!" Nick hissed, chasing after her, only to slow down as he spotted Judy stopping at a student.

"Oh my gosh, are you Judy Hopps?" the student asked, eyes brightening. Judy hesitated for a moment, but decided to take advantage of the situation,

"Yeah I am. But right now, I'm looking for someone. Do you know who Isaac Scarlet is?"

"Er...sure? He's my classmate," the otter replied, a little stunned by the question.

"Did you see where he went?" Judy asked.

"Yea, he already left."

"Which direction?"

The otter pondered for a moment, before pointing right.

"Thank you... What's your name?" The least she could do after randomly shooting questions at the student was to thank him with his name.

"I'm Brandon, Brandon Otterton."

Judy hid whatever shock she had when she heard his surname. It brought back the memory of the savage case all that time ago. Nick and Judy had found Emmitt Otterton and the other missing mammals, and gave grounds for researchers to develop a cure for the night howler serum later on.

"Thanks, Brandon." She thanked the student again, and rushed out the school gates, while Nick sighed and followed once again.

"Well, he went this way. Where does this lead to?" Judy gestured toward the general side that Brandon had pointed out. Nick held his chin, staring at the area for a moment, before it dawned on him.

"It's in the direction of the ZPD headquarters," Nick informed.

"He'd better be there. Come on, get in the car!"

* * *

"So...how's Judy?" Benjamin asked. Isaac had turned up looking for Nick or Judy, and since they were nowhere to be found, Benjamin allowed him to stick around behind the counter. The fox grunted in reply, and fished around his bag briefly, and passed a brown paper bag to the receptionist.

"What's this?" The cheetah looked into the bag, and took out a sandwich.

"Tomatoes and lettuce?" He asked, trying hard not to laugh. Isaac's unamused look told him that he was doing a bad job of it, and swallowed his laughter, and put the sandwich back in the bag.

"Did you get anything to eat?"

"Not much," Isaac replied. The bag of chips for lunch didn't really fill him up all too well. The fox thanked the cheetah as he passed him a donut.

"Ah, don't worry, Judy is kind of a self-perfectionist. I doubt she'll make the same mistake again."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot away."

"How did Judy get hired?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she's a rabbit..."

"Oh that doesn't matter at all..."

Their conversation was cut off as a certain officer barged through the front door.

"Ben, did Isaac come by?"

Judy's speed was often astonishing, and the receptionist almost didn't catch her zipping to the counter.

"Yea, he's right here," Benjamin replied, peering over the counter to see her.

"Where?"

"Behind the counter. Where's Nick?"

"Coming soon. He's parking the cruiser." The bunny went behind the counter, and was finally able to see Isaac.

"Isaac, I am so sorry..."

Isaac didn't say anything, and shrugged.

"Oh Judy, your break, it's halfway through."

"Hi Isaac," someone greeted from behind the counter.

"Hi Nick," the schoolboy replied.

"Gosh, did you two even eat?" Benjamin asked the duo.

"Uh..."

"Nope."

"You two really love doing that don't you..." Benjamin sighed. "Hurry on, you have about thirty minutes to get something from Frank's."

Benjamin was referring to the cafe next to the ZPD headquarters. It was where he obtained his stash of donuts every morning.

"Oh... But Isaac, do you want to go home, or stay here?" Judy asked.

"I'd rather stay," the fox replied.

"How did they get together anyway? Were they assigned to each other?" Isaac asked Benjamin the moment Nick and Judy left.

"No. Judy _strongly_ _encouraged_ the chief to hire Nick. They are willing partners," the cheetah replied.

"Rabbit and a fox. How did they ever start getting along..."

"It's a very long story. Very, very, _very_ long."

* * *

"I'm a little worried about Isaac..." Judy admitted, staring at her salad that was prodded at more than eaten. "Everything I've done seems wrong."

"You didn't really do much actually, the kid has quite a bit of independence," Nick replied.

"Well, _everything_ I did so far is a mistake. It'll be terrible if he isn't happy with me. He's going to be living with me for over five _years!_ "

"Oh please, you're not bullying him or anything, all you've made are honest mistakes..."

"Too many honest mistakes is bad, Nick, you of all people should know that that applies to me, _especially_."

"Carrots, you learn from those mistakes. And that's what makes them _honest mistakes._ I know you won't make them again," Nick told her firmly. It was, however, slightly difficult for Judy to take the fox seriously while his mouth was full of cheap pasta. Judy sighed.

"I hope this isn't another huge mistake."

"You're delusional from hunger. Eat something before you faint," Nick snorted, trying in his own manner to get her head off the situation. _No matter how much she tells me bunnies aren't emotional and over dramatic, I can't even change my mind in time before she contradicts herself._

She finally took a bite, staring blankly at Nick while she chewed. Nick swallowed, and stared back for a while.

"Judy," Nick called, grabbing her attention. He only ever called her that when he was serious, and seriousness wasn't something Nick Wilde used freely.

"You can do it. You're giving the kid hope. If you didn't step in, he'd be in an orphanage."

* * *

"Wow, you guys are already doing quadratic graphs...? In my time, kids your age only did basic algebra," Benjamin stared in confusion at Isaac's homework.

"So... you don't know how to do it?"

"I didn't say that..." Benjamin began, but groaned soon after. "Who am I kidding, this stuff has disappeared from my head a long time ago."

"Are you saying algebra is useless in real life?"

Benjamin stalled at the question, not sure how to reply. He opened his mouth to try, failed to think of anything to say, and stuffed an entire donut into it instead. Isaac chuckled at the cheetah's reaction, taking back his homework to try again himself.

"Anyway..." Benjamin gulped, swallowing the pastry with ease. "Nick and Judy may clock out soon. And they'll pick you up. I think Judy's good at math, she could help."

"What about Nick?"

"Don't know about him. He doesn't talk much about school related things."

Isaac stopped to ponder for a moment. Not wanting to talk about a simple thing like school was probably an indication that it was a taboo subject to Nick.

"About that long story of how those two met, maybe I could hear it tomorrow?"

"It's Saturday tomorrow, I would be at home, watching all the recorded episodes of _City Cats_."

" _City Cats_? You mean that annoying drama that keeps going in circles?" Isaac laughed.

"How could you say that?" Clawhauser gasped playfully. "You're right though, it does go in circles. No matter, the season is almost over."

"Hey Isaac, ready to go home?" a voice asked. Isaac and Benjamin peered over the counter.

"Oh, hey Judy! Where's Nick?"

"Fetching his car," Judy replied as Isaac packed up his belongings.

"Be careful not to leave anything behind, the receptionist that works here on weekends doesn't respect personal property," Benjamin warned. "He broke one of my snow globes once," he continued, peering at his collection on the table.

"Toodles," Benjamin waved as Judy and Isaac left.

* * *

"How was your day champ?" Nick asked as he steered.

"Interesting," Isaac replied.

"It's Saturday tomorrow. Anything you wanna do?" Judy asked.

Isaac looked up. He never had much time to do anything during the weekends, and if he made time, he was usually left with a ton of housework. Silently, he realized that he hadn't touched housework since he moved in with Judy.

"Not really," he finally replied. He yawned, leaning back fully against the backrest.

* * *

The night didn't yield much. The trio simply went for dinner at a nearby restaurant. Judy had a pile of dumplings and pumpkin soup. Nick and Isaac had grilled chicken. Judy and Isaac were both worn out from the long day, and the latter took a shower soon after reaching home, and went to bed. His bedroom door blocked out the tuned-down noise of the cooking tutorial Judy was watching, with a small notepad ready in a paw.


	3. Weekend

"Does it taste funny or anything?"

"No, it's fine."

To Judy's relief, the morning went more or less smoothly. The scrambled eggs didn't rebel against her, and turned out like how they were supposed to be. She actually remembered to make herself breakfast (though it was just an effortless lightly salted vegetable wrap).

"Nick might be coming over in the afternoon," Judy informed, taking a bite from her wrap.

"What for?"

"He claims he has nothing better to do. As always."

Isaac finished the last portions of his egg, and took slow sips from his glass of orange juice.

"How did you two meet," Isaac inquired. Judy paused for awhile, organizing her thoughts.

"It's a long story. You'd never guess what Nick worked as before he was a cop."

"Was he a teacher?"

"If there's something he can't do, it's schoolwork. Doubt he ever was a teacher."

Upon Judy mentioning schoolwork, Isaac recalled what Benjamin told him. _He doesn't talk much about school related things_.

"Judy, did Nick graduate from college?"

Judy's ears perked up in response.

"Well..." She stalled, thinking of how to put it. Nick didn't _just_ drop out of school, it was more severe, and Isaac was going to know about the truth one day. Still, Judy wasn't too keen on letting him know at the moment. Nick did not have the most direct past, and other than his mother, Judy was sure that she was the only person that really knew much about it.

"Hello?"

Isaac's voice broke her from her thoughts.

"Oh...sorry," Judy scratched her head, thinking of what to say when Isaac dismissed it with a "Never Mind". Even he could tell that he stepped on something.

* * *

 _17 years ago..._

"Nick, wanna see a trick?"

"What kind of trick?"

"Take a good look."

He shuffled a deck of cards in front of him, and, without looking, asked Nick to pick out four random cards, backs facing the both of them. And so he did.

"Wait, what?" Nick laughed, taking a closer look at his picks. All were aces.

"You rigged the deck!"

"Nah..." he chuckled, taking back the cards, and reshuffling his deck. His hands moved like lightning, almost a blur handling the delicate and slim pieces of decorated cardboard. "I have all the luck in the world, Hobbit," he smiled.

* * *

"What the?" Isaac stared at the cards.

"Shall I show you again?" Nick chuckled.

"Yes."

And so Nick redid his trick. He shuffled his deck once again, and let Isaac pick four unrevealed cards from it. And, as expected, all four were aces.

"Is that whole deck made of aces?"

"Definitely not," Nick briefly flashed every card in his deck. It seemed more or less normal.

"How do you even do that?"

"Just how I do this," Nick reached behind Isaac's ear. A coin was present in his fingers. Isaac stared at it in shock, and felt behind both his ears.

"Nah, not like that," Nick laughed, showed Isaac his empty paws.

"Oh hey, you got a coin of some kind now?" He asked.

"No?"

"Nah, you have like five of them in your pocket."

Isaac reached in, and paused in disbelief before pulling out five little coins.

"Oh gosh, that trick?" Judy laughed, appearing from the kitchen.

"You used to be this fun to mess with," Nick chuckled, and got up from the table as Isaac processed the situation.

"Not anymore, I figured out most of them," Judy replied smugly, and reached behind Nick's ear to pull out a coin.

"That one is the simplest trick ever, Carrots. I'm pretty sure even the kid knows how to do it," Nick crossed his arms, and returned a smirk.

"Hey Nick, you seen my calculator anywhere?" Isaac asked.

"Not that I recall," Nick replied, idly scanning the surroundings.

"Really? But it's in your pocket," Isaac pointed. Nick fished around his pocket for a moment, and his smirk vanished when he felt a foreign object. It was Isaac's calculator. Judy laughed at Nick's shocked look as Isaac took his device back with a grin.

"Okay, that was impressive," Nick admitted.

* * *

The longer Isaac was around Nick, the more the desire to ask about his past life burned. But if Judy reacted so strangely to it, Nick would probably react even worse. It was annoying to keep it in the dark, but Isaac figured that asking something touchy was the last thing he wanted with someone he just met. And so he tried to forget about it by doing his homework.

Nick had no idea how to help with that one question from yesterday.

Isaac didn't ask Judy.

And so, he attempted it mostly by himself. An electronic voice from outside caught his attention. The fox opened his room door, and peeked out. Nick was staring from across the table, while Judy was talking to someone through her phone. It wasn't an ordinary call. It seemed to be a Face Time.

"Things have been going great," Judy said, smiling at the screen.

"That's great to hear Judes!" a voice replied from the other side.

"Have you eaten?" another asked.

Isaac shifted a little to his right, and squinted to see the screen. There were two bunnies depicted on it, a male and a female. Based on that, the fox guessed that it was Judy's parents.

"Yeah, I have," Judy answered. "How are things on your side?"

"Oh Janice is married!"

"Really? That's great!" Isaac began to lose interest in her conversation, and started to stroll back to his room, when something caught his attention.

"Honey is that a _fox_ in the background?" A voice asked in a panic.

"What?" Judy asked, and turned around. She paled a little when she spotted Isaac standing there, and her mouth hung open. Across the table, Nick gestured for him to move away from the screen's line of sight.

"What's a fox doing in your house?"

"I...Er..." Judy turned back, at a loss of words to say.

"Is he robbing you?"

"Go catch him already!"

"Oh my..." Judy grabbed her forehead with a paw, thinking of what to do next. Isaac hurriedly shifted away, confounded at the whole situation.

"Call the cops!"

" _She_ is a cop, Stu..."

"Guys, guys!" Judy halted them. "Its fine, it's just... I...I'll call you back next time okay?"

"Oh boy..." Judy groaned after she hung up.

"What's going on?" Isaac asked, blinking in confusion.

"You didn't know, so it isn't your fault," Nick started. "But Judy's parents have a strange dislike for foxes."

"Oh..." Isaac felt a pang of guilt, as he realized that he unknowingly dealt a blow to Judy and her parents' relations. Although he had a little distance from her, he did not want to ruin any part of her life.

"What do I tell them afterwards? They'll probably call back in an hour to find out what happened," Judy grabbed her head with her two paws, ears drooping down.

"Calm down, you could just tell the truth about Isaac. It's much more straightforward than my case," Nick said.

"They aren't gonna accept it anymore than you," Judy whined, her foot tapping rapidly against the floor as she thought of what to do next.

"Your parents... Don't know about Nick?" Isaac asked, a little dubious at the whole situation.

"Well, it's...complicated, when you come from a place where... people... don't get along well," Judy explained, ceasing her tapping. It was true that her parents collaborated with Gideon, but even then, there were lines. Boundaries that Judy probably crossed by miles. It was as if almost no bunny from the burrows would ever have a predator as a work partner, let alone adopt a _fox_. There was so much discrimination against foxes and other predators, that a company that manufactured products to deter predators thrived there. And as much as Judy disagreed with it, there was nothing she could really attempt that would solve the issue peacefully. It was already half humorous thinking about what the conversation with her parents would sound like.

 _Hey mom, hey dad, I went against every warning you've ever given me, and partnered with, and even adopted what you told me was the devil. I hope you're okay with it_.

Judy chuckled at the thought, and decided to dismiss it for now. She was, after all, in the same room as two foxes.

"I think Carrots accepted her fate," Nick whispered to Isaac.

"I heard that, Nick," Judy's paws went to her hips. But she was wearing a gentle smile. "It should be fine, what's the worse they could do anyway?"

"Optimistic, as always," Nick concluded. His phone buzzed soon after, and he picked it out and stared at it with disinterest. The disinterest soon dissolved into a frown, and a sigh escaped his mouth. "Sorry, I need to go settle something," Nick excused himself, leaving soon after his farewell. "Next time, Carrots. Bye Hobbit."

" _Hobbit?_ " Isaac raised an eyebrow as Nick disappeared out the door.

"I doubt Nick ever used anyone's actual name casually," Judy shrugged. "You hungry yet?"

"A little."

"Do you feel like going out?"

"Not really."

"Okay, I'll grab something back for you," the bunny decided. "Anything you prefer?"

"Anything's fine."

* * *

It was difficult to settle her mind on what to buy for the fox. There was a wide variety, and most of it was quite alien to the rabbit. So, after some exploring, she decided to queue up at a takeaway store that seemed popular for its (non-vegetarian) dishes. The moment Judy stepped in line, she began to feel like a highlighted target. People walking by gave glances of confusion, and the mongoose in front of her in the queue kept looking back, and was very visibly itching to release a torrent of questions. It got more and more irritating as she attracted more and more curiosity.

"Are you in the wrong queue?" the mongoose finally asked. Judy looked back, hiding most of her annoyance.

"No," she replied as flatly as she could. The mongoose turned to face the front again, but soon turned back with another question.

"What're you buying?"

Judy leaned a little sideways, and stared at the menu board briefly, before she picked a random one labeled "Popular".

"Er...you sure you want that?" The mongoose questioned her choice.

"It's for someone else," Judy replied. It finally seemed to satisfy his curiosity, and he turned back to the front, not saying anything else.

And then, she had to take an order.

And walk back through crowds of people carrying a bag with the store's big colorful symbol.

* * *

Isaac could feel an aura around Judy when she came back, and was careful to avoid provoking her in any way. He casually thanked Judy when he got the meal, and she shrugged, going to the kitchen to prepare something for herself. She got so annoyed with the surrounding people that she decided to rush home instead of buying her meal in public. When she finished preparing a simple meal five minutes later (A bowl of instant noodles), she seemed more or less back to her normal self.

"How was school yesterday?"

"Fine."

Such short conversations made up the majority of the interactions between Isaac and Judy. Isaac simply didn't want to talk much, and this wasn't without reason. Judy was a giant, 180 degree change in his life (mostly for the better), but amidst all the confusion, all he could remember, was that she was the officer that arrested his only parent. And the very idea of a rabbit taking care of a fox didn't help — it was ridiculous, even laughable. If anything about it got out, it could easily place him in social isolation.

But he didn't fully feel that way. Because although Judy was the one who arrested his mother, although Judy had rather disorganized parenting skills, although Judy was a rabbit...she genuinely cared for him.

And so, Judy brought up a mix of different emotions and feelings.

Much like his mother did. Except that any positive relation he once had with her was probably a blind one.

After all Judy did to help him feel at home, the least he could do was try to not hate her.

"How's work?" He asked.


	4. Privacy Invasion

"What do you mean you _adopted_ a fox?"

Judy flinched at the question. "I mean it literally, " she replied her parents, hiding any worry she had about their opinion. There was an awkward and discomforting silence afterwards, and the rabbit got more nervous by the second.

"Oh Judy, why didn't you tell us?" A feminine voice asked. It was Judy's mother, and her tone was a little clouded. Judy couldn't predict anything from it.

"We probably should've discussed this," another voice said. It was Judy's father. There was a faint rustle as Bonnie nudged Stu.

"I know...but it all happened so fast," Judy muttered, staring at the screen. Bonnie and Stu were staring back, but Judy could tell that they were very tempted to mute their side and get into a heated discussion about her situation.

"Guys?" She pressed a little, trying to get a response.

"Well, maybe you should come visit with him," Bonnie suggested. This time, Stu turned abruptly and stared at Bonnie. The two started whispering to one another, and under the cover of static and poor reception, Judy couldn't make out a thing. She bit her lower lip and awaited what they wanted to say.

"Well, okay, it's fine, but yes, you should come visit with him," Bonnie finally decided. While Stu didn't seem a hundred percent happy, he at least looked like he agreed.

"You still have the fox repellent right?" Stu blurted out just before the call was going to end.

"Stu!" Bonnie hissed.

"Okay, okay," He calmed, "Anyway, lookin' forward to see ya again. Give a call before comin' okay?"

"Er...okay," Judy replied, unsure of how to react. When the call ended, she sat in the same spot, pondering about the possible outcomes. While she was glad that her parents didn't react too strongly, bringing Isaac to the burrows sounded like an excessively bold idea. The kids most likely wouldn't mind, but she did still have a hundred or so uncles and aunts that probably wouldn't feel the same way. Currently, compared to most of her relatives, her parents were already very tolerant to predators. After all, Stu's bad (but thankfully improving) attitude towards foxes was as good as an inherited trait.

Judy looked around the house one last time. It was late. She had ensured that Isaac was fast asleep before starting her call, as she simply wanted to remove any chance of the fox hearing anything too negative. Shutting off the lights, Judy finally retreated to her room for some much-needed sleep. After the first day, Judy had set up another mattress in Isaac's room and now each of them had their own private room.

* * *

A low throaty growl sounded beyond the bushes. Judy edged backwards, going at a terribly slow pace. A wall halted her from behind, and she glanced around, accessing the situation. Her right leg was injured and refused to function. She was trapped in some sort of pit. And she wasn't alone.

And somehow, it seemed...familiar. The growl continued, getting louder and fiercer. Judy started to move sideways, attempting to put more distance between her and whatever was in the bushes, but soon, she saw its eyes. Emerald, glowing slits flashing through the bushes, and a malicious glint revealing sharp, teeth. It transfixed her, and she stared at it in shock.

Not it.

 _Him_.

Without warning, he pounced, and for a brief second, revealed his full features. And then all went dark, with a scream of terror.

* * *

Judy gasped as she shot out, hitting and kicking at thin air. Her panic slowly wore off as her eyes registered her surroundings. Her hectic breathing calmed as she moved her right leg. The dark started to seem a little more ominous, as imaginary eyes stared from every dark crevice. Judy shivered slightly, and tried to relax, lying back down on her bed. The air conditioner's fan was still making its usual hum, and Judy took it as the only comforting sound. Despite the cooled surroundings, there was still sweat on her forehead. It had happened so long ago, that it was ridiculous to have a nightmare about it. She was never too shaken about the experience. Nick was just acting, and so was she. Just a plan to catch Bellwether unguarded.

So why, out of all that time, did she have a nightmare about it now?

Judy grunted in annoyance as she tried to fall back to sleep. _Dreams are all random. Nothing to worry about_...

* * *

Nick arrived at 6:30 am to drive Isaac to school. Judy woke up at 5:30am, prepared $30 as one week of Isaac's allowance, and made breakfast. Nick and Judy had a much later shift and so they didn't need to report at the usual time. And so, the rabbit decided to stick at home. A bigger apartment did mean more housework, and Judy couldn't think of anything other than her experience in the middle of the night. So, she busied herself cleaning. Judy was a tidiness loving person, but she normally didn't force her preference on anybody else.

In Isaac's case, she was pleased to note that his room was kept neat. The only problem was a pile of files and books that cluttered the floor under his table. While they were organised, it was making things difficult for someone trying to sweep the floor. Judy heaved as she lifted the pile up in one go, and grunted as she placed the items on the table. A brown, unlabelled book fell from the pile, and landed on the ground with a slight click, throwing its pages open. Judy bent down to pick it up but stopped upon noticing the dense text written in it.

 _Dear Journal..._

Judy shut the book upon registering the words and stared at the cover. The brief internal thought of reading it was near-immediately extinguished. She placed it back with the other files and books and turned to grab her broom again. She glared at a tiny rectangular piece of paper on the floor, before picking it up and dumping it onto the table. She gathered the dust from under the table in a few strokes and placed the items back on the floor where she remembered. She swept the rest of the room's exposed ground and turned to sweep under Isaac's mattress. His mattress was on the floor but was thick enough for comfort. A blanket and two pillows were thrown around the top, seemingly the only noticeable disorder in the room. She folded the blanket and placed it along with the pillows on a nearby roller chair, and leant the mattress against a wall. She was about to continue sweeping when she spotted a paper with multiple little red markings. It was a report card. Judy's brows furrowed as she saw the results. Isaac practically failed everything but one or two subjects.

A sudden realisation hit Judy, and her hand followed up next as she slapped her forehead.

"Look at me, expecting a kid with family problems to do well," Judy muttered to herself, placing the report card on the table.

* * *

"The other day, two officers came looking for ya here," Brandon told Isaac. It was recess, and the two were walking toward the canteen.

"Was it a rabbit and a fox?" Isaac asked, a little embarrassed that the two brashly asked for him in front of his classmate.

"Yea. What was it about?"

"Oh. Nothing. Nothing much," Isaac shrugged, trying to dismiss the topic. He probably sounded unconvincing, as Brandon raised an eyebrow. Not many knew of Isaac's mother, but Brandon was one of the few.

"Did it...have something to do with... your... er," the otter searched for the words to put it in a non-awkward way.

"Well," Isaac bit his lip. "My mom was arrested."

" _What?_ Really?"

"Yea. Someone adopted me afterwards," Isaac shrugged. The info spilt out on its own, but he didn't really want anyone to fuss about it.

"How is he?" The otter asked.

"She. She's okay. Clumsy, but nice," the fox answered. Brandon smiled back. It seemed as though Isaac's new parent was better, and Brandon was glad for him. But knowing Isaac, he didn't enjoy such conversations.

"Did you recognize the rabbit officer?" Brandon changed the subject. "It was Judy Hopps!"

Now it was Isaac's turn to raise his eye brow. "Okay...and?"

"You didn't hear? She solved that savage case some time ago. It was on the news and everything."

Isaac tried to recall, but he never really bothered much about current affairs. It probably slipped past him.

"What savage case?"

"The one where Mayor Bellwether made predators go savage with some serum," Brandon explained, trying to jog his memory.

"That one? How'd you remember that from so long ago?" Isaac asked, faintly recalling hearing of it a long time back.

"My dad was a victim of it," Brandon explained. "He's okay now, thanks to Judy."

* * *

"How was school?" Judy asked after she closed the door.

"Oh school was great," Nick jokingly replied, going into the kitchen.

"It was fine," Isaac replied.

"Okay, Nick and I need to leave for work soon, I'll be back about dinner time," Judy told him, adjusting her badge as she walked into the kitchen. "Nick, what are you doing?"

Isaac leaned his bag against his room wall, and turned on the lights. The first thing that greeted him, was an unwelcome sight on his table. The fox frowned as he picked up his report card.

 _Was Judy nosing around my room?_

He dismissed the thought. If she was cleaning, she would've found it. He turned below his table, and was about to slot the card into one of the files when he spotted something. A small, rectangular piece of paper he used as a bookmark. He grabbed it, and glared at it, looking at it from all angles. No doubt, it was the bookmark that was in his journal.

 _She was reading my journal...?_

"Isaac, we're going. There's food in the kitchen cupboard if you're hungry. Anything else you need?" Judy peeked from his door.

"No," he answered flatly, not looking back.

"Alright then. Take care," Judy replied, not picking up his subtle change in tone.

A crumpled bookmark fell on the floor as the door closed.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Hopefully I managed to nail the effect. Sorry if it was too rushed...**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading, remember to leave a review (they help to break down writers' block).**


	5. Privacy Exploitation

Judy noted the darkness with surprise. It was only about 8pm in the night, and yet, it seemed as though Isaac had shut off all the lights and went to bed. She flicked on the main room's lamps, illuminating the darkness. After placing Isaac's dinner on the dining table, she walked to his room. The door was shut, and no light creeped out from under it. Judy knocked a few times, and when there was no answer, she silently opened the door, revealing the pitch black room. Isaac was visibly lying on his mattress, with the blanket to his chest, staring at the ceiling.

"Isaac? Dinner's ready," Judy informed. "Are you feeling unwell?"

"Just tired," he muttered in reply, turning away from her.

"You sure you don't want to take a bite? You might be hungry later on," she said.

 _Hungry enough to eat a rabbit,_ he refrained from saying. He grunted, not really answering her question.

"Okay then, your dinner will be in the microwave. If you're hungry, just grab it from there," Judy closed the room door as slowly and quietly as possible. The dark soon enveloped the room again after it shut out the light from outside, and Isaac sat up, revealing his journal from under his covers. Being a fox, he had excellent night vision, and could see the writing easily. The air conditioner hummed as he scribbled in the book. He only ever wrote new entries when he was alone in the dark. The dark was comforting to him—he felt like there was nothing else trying to bother him. Or spy on him. Upon finishing the last words, he slotted a crumpled piece of paper between the pages and closed the book. He was about to place it back in its usual spot under the table, but stopped, and placed it in his school bag. Nobody could get to it if he brought it with him. The rest of the night was troubling. Confusing guilt gnawed at him as the faint thought of an accident lingered.

 _It could've just slipped out while she was sweeping._

 _It could've dropped out when she moved it._

 _She could've been snooping around._

Isaac growled in frustration, tossing and turning as sleep evaded him.

* * *

"You look tired," Brandon commented, noticing Isaac's grumpy mood and dark panda eyes.

"I'm fine," the fox grunted in reply. The two were returning from the canteen, and heading back to class.

"Well, you could blend in with the crowd later on. It's math after this," the otter shrugged. The math lessons could put any one of them to sleep, not because the subject was boring, but because the badger teaching it was so horribly bland and slow. It was common to see half the class dozing off, as he normally couldn't be bothered to wake anyone up.

The two were soon outside their classroom, but something stopped them. Isaac frowned as he saw over five students crowded around his table, laughing at something. And he soon found the reason why.

" _Hey!"_ Isaac yelled, storming forward. The group looked up from whatever they were laughing at. A book with a brown cover was revealed among them.

"Oh look, it's the Rabbitfox," the lion holding the book greeted smugly. Isaac's teeth ground at the nickname, and he glared at the lion. It was Ryan.

The two never had a very good relationship. Isaac never talked much in class and so, to Ryan, the fox was simply antisocial. Someone with nobody to back him up. More than once, Isaac was the target of the lion's crude jokes, but in the past, compared to the rest of Isaac's problems, Ryan wasn't even in the top ten. Thus, Isaac never bothered retaliating.

Not even the slightest vocal rebut or threat. But now, it was seeping into his personal life.

" _Give it back_ ," Isaac growled, teeth grinding together.

"How 'bout no? I'm not done reading it yet," the lion casually opened the book again, a sickening smirk plastered on his face. The rest slowly returned to their own business, sensing an escalating tension. Brandon stood at the entrance, looking nervously. Ryan was easily two heads taller than Isaac. If they got into a brawl, there was almost no doubt of who would come out injured.

"I said. _Give. It. Back._ "

Ryan looked up, shut the book, and stood up to his full height.

"What makes you think I'll listen to the kid of a _drug addict_?" Ryan asked, glaring down at Isaac. No fear was present in Isaac at the time. Everything Ryan had done, up to the present, suddenly felt like hot needles piercing into his skin. Isaac could feel himself heating up from the anger.

One last push was all it took.

" _Oh wait_. You're not the kid of a drug addict. You're the kid of a _bunny_ ," Ryan said.

That was it. The last strands of control were slowly snapping as the years of emotional turmoil swirled into brute force. Isaac's fist clenched tightly as common sense and decency slowly dimmed out. All down to the final thread.

" _Back off Ryan_. That's _enough_."

Ryan looked over Isaac, and almost snickered as he saw Brandon. If Isaac was small compared to the lion, the otter was tiny. And yet, all it took was that otter to smack some sense into what he was doing. Ryan snorted and dumped the book on Isaac's table before returning to his own. Isaac glumly returned to his seat, half wishing that Brandon hadn't interfered. _Now he's going to keep doing it_.

During mathematics, his mind wandered.

During history, the facts went in one ear and out the other.

During chemistry, he got back a test paper with the lowest score in the class. And a parent's signature was compulsory.

* * *

"Isaac? Is something wrong?" Nick asked as he glanced at the rear mirror. It was easy to tell that something was off. Isaac not only seemed distant and moody, but he radiated it.

"I'm fine," Isaac responded. "Where's Judy?"

"She's at the headquarters finishing some paperwork. Why?" Nick asked.

"How is she to you?"

"What do you mean?" Nick raised an eyebrow, glimpsing at Isaac's reflection in the rear mirror again.

"How do you find her?"

"Well," Nick organised his thoughts. "She is the clumsiest person I know."

"I mean...is she honest with you?" Isaac pressed.

Nick blinked at the inquiry, a little suspicious of the direction it was headed.

"Yea, she is," Nick finally replied. "Almost too honest," he added with a smirk.

"Has she gone through your personal things before?"

"What?" Nick was taken aback by the question. It had sounded like an accusation. "Definitely not."

The conversation hit a pause for a bit before Nick initiated it again. "Why'd you ask?"

"No reason," Isaac answered, too quickly. He fiddled with the zips on his bag, and little metallic clinking sounded. The sound soon became insignificant when Nick spoke again.

"Come on, there has to be a reason for that sort of question."

Isaac did not reply and it was too late for Nick to try again as the ZPD headquarters came in sight. Judy was waiting in front of the building, identifying Nick's car before it arrived. As Isaac was about to open the door, Nick halted him.

"Whatever it is, make sure you settle it with her. She can be amazingly ignorant," Nick advised. Isaac nodded and left. Judy smiled at him as he approached, but the fox acknowledged her presence with a brief and subtle nod and a general glance in her direction. Her smile dropped a little and she peered back at him entering the main doors as she walked toward Nick's car.

* * *

"Frank's? Or some other place?"

"Maybe some other place," Judy decided.

"How's Isaac so far?" Nick asked.

"He's fine so far," the rabbit replied.

"Really? Nothing unusual?" the fox inquired as casually as possible.

"Well, he seems to be failing nearly every subject in school," Judy sighed, recalling the report card that she had found stashed away under Isaac's mattress.

"How did you find out?"

"When I was sweeping his room, I found a report card under his mattress."

Nick pieced it together mentally and deduced the situation.

"Where'd you leave it afterwards?"

"On his table. Why?"

"Well Carrots," Nick sighed, "if Isaac saw that it changed positions, he might have believed that you poked around his room while he was away."

" _What?_ " Judy leant against the car door as she brooded about the consequences of the one action.

"Did...did he tell you that I was doing that?" Judy asked. She simply had to confirm it. Nick hesitated, before replying.

"He didn't say that... he... _implied_ it. He asked if you've gone through my personal stuff before."

"Oh no... This is bad..." Judy groaned, paw covering her face.

"Relax, I've talked it over with him. If he still has some doubt about you, he'll talk about it later on," Nick soothed.

"How can I possibly sound like I'm telling the truth if he confronts me with that?"

"Are you kidding? You're so bad at lying, anybody can see the difference."

"Not helping," Judy crossed her arms.

"That's as far as I can help your situation," Nick reminded. "It's between you and Isaac."

* * *

"Hey Isaac, how are you?" Benjamin greeted as Isaac settled behind the counter. The fox paused, and shook his head. The cheetah blinked in surprise, and edged toward him, gesturing for him to continue. However, the notion of revealing anything soon vanished from Isaac's head.

"I failed my chemistry test... do you think Judy would be mad?" he asked, steering away from his original topic.

"It's... hard to say. I've only ever seen Judy mad on a few occasions," the cheetah replied cheerily, relieved that it was such a minor issue.

"Like what?"

Benjamin paused, and hesitated, tapping his chin with a finger slowly as his pupils wandered away from Isaac.

"Actually, it was only once, when she was truly, _truly_ mad," he continued.

"What happened?" although Isaac didn't know much about Judy, it was apparent that she wasn't the type to lose her temper easily.

"It was something between her and Nick. I don't know much, but she was arguing with him. They _both_ looked mad," Benjamin recalled with a look of concern on his face, like as if he was visualising it in front of him. "I've never seen anything quite like it."

"Nick, fighting with Judy?"

"Yeah. It started really strangely, she exploded at him for calling her 'Carrots'," Benjamin continued.

* * *

 _"Don't call me that" Judy yelled standing up, and shoving a finger at Nick's chest. Nick stumbled back and stared in shock at her. In all their time together, she had been okay with the nickname. It was definitely not what triggered her anger._

 _"There's something you're not telling me, what is it?" Nick shot back._

 _"ME?" Judy's glare seemed to intensify at his question. "YOU'RE the one KEEPING things from me!"_

 _"What in the world are you talking about?" Nick rushed after her as she stormed away._

 _"You know what I'm talking about, stop playing dumb!"_

 _"How am I supposed to know if you're not willing to say anything?" Nick yelled back. It all seemed like a random, ridiculous outrage. It seemed so out of the blue, so unfitting. Everyone in the vicinity was staring. It was appalling, seeing the two fighting. It was one of the most unimaginable things ever. And yet, there it was, happening right there._

 _"I saw you, Nick," she growled. "I saw where you were yesterday. I know what you did."_

 _Nick had stood there, looking dumbstruck, like someone had zapped him with a taser. Judy had walked out. He hadn't followed._

* * *

"Even stranger, they pretty much recovered within two or three days," Benjamin shrugged.

"What did Nick do?" Isaac asked, trying to wrap his head around the story.

"I don't know. It was a very touchy subject," the receptionist replied. His eyes widened as he thought of something.

"Don't tell Nick or Judy that I told you," he added quickly and silently. " _Touchy_ subject," he repeated, cringing as he did so.


	6. Keith

"Maybe it's time to talk about your grades," Judy murmured, looking at the chemistry paper. Normally, Isaac would have left the paper on a table somewhere, and Emma would sign it without saying much. It didn't work the same way for Judy. Isaac sat across her awaiting what she was going to say.

"Did you study for this?" She finally asked.

"No," Isaac replied directly.

"When did you take this?"

"About two days ago."

"How are you doing for your other subjects anyway?" Judy asked as she signed the paper. Isaac scratched his head as he hesitated to reply.

"About the same," He murmured.

"You need to take some responsibility with this," she sighed, passing the paper back.

"Okay."

"Do you have any other upcoming tests?"

Isaac couldn't help but think of an interrogation. Judy was sitting across him, and the test paper in front of him seemed like a list of crimes he'd committed.

"Not that I know of," he lied. Judy's attention at his academics was the last thing he wanted. The last thing he needed was for her to walk into his school. But from the slightly dubious look on Judy, Isaac could tell that she didn't really believe him.

"Alright then," she said, in contrast to her expression. "Go on, you probably have homework to do."

* * *

For the first time, Isaac actually felt (a little) concerned for his academics. Past early elementary school, he had never passed a test.

Isaac casually took out numerous worksheets, all bits of undone homework, but froze briefly as he spotted his journal in the bag.

 _Kid of a bunny. Rabbitfox._

Better to leave it in the house. He would prefer Judy reading his journal over Ryan.

And at least there was a chance she didn't read it.

* * *

" _What the heck do you mean you saw Keith?"_ Nick growled at the phone.

"I mean it literally," the gruff voice answered. "He was at the Frank's next to your headquarters."

"Is he still there?" Nick asked, forcing himself to calm down. No point blowing up at the wrong people.

"No, he left about a few minutes ago."

"You think you can trace him, Finnick?" Nick requested.

"He's gone. Can't find anything," the Fennec fox replied.

"Okay. Never mind then," Nick sighed, before hanging up, silently cursing as he got up.

 _I step my foot into my house after a long day, and he decides to show up... Excellent timing_...

Nick grumbled as he pushed himself through the door. The night sky that greeted him stopped him in his tracks. No way he'd have any chance of finding Keith in the dark. He glared at the surroundings, before slamming the door shut, turning to face the inviting lure of his apartment's sofa. The fox gave in to it, and slumped on it, as he picked up his phone to dial another number.

"Hey Nick," the familiar voice greeted.

"Hey Carrots," Nick returned the greeting. "How's your night?"

"Nothing much."

Nick raised an eyebrow at her reply. He had expected Isaac to say something.

"Isaac... didn't say anything?" Nick probed cautiously.

"Well, he asked me to sign some chemistry test, but that's it," the rabbit answered.

"How'd he do?"

"Five out of thirty."

"Yikes," Nick replied, slightly indifferent. Grades had never meant much to him.

"Anyway, what about your night?"

"Not too good. Finnick called," Nick started.

"And?" Judy nudged.

"He said that he saw Keith."

There was a silence as Judy received the information.

"But... What's he doing here?" She finally asked.

"I don't know, the guy evaded Finnick before he could learn more. Probably spotted his van," Nick replied.

"Well, with some hope, that fox isn't Keith," Judy comforted. But privately, even she knew that was a futile effort.

"Yes maybe," Nick lied. He knew Finnick. And he knew that Finnick didn't mistake what he saw. Nick had learnt that the hard way. But there was no point worrying Judy all over again without one hundred percent solid evidence.

"If he comes to me with another issue, I'm not going to help him," Nick murmured.

"Well, if he gets a job of some kind, maybe he'd stop getting into these messes."

"I doubt it. Unless his boss is ridiculously gullible, he wouldn't last a month in any decent job."

A knock on the door distracted Nick. The fox peered at a wall clock. It was nearly ten at night.

"Hold on," Nick said, moving cautiously to the door. A look through the door's peeping hole revealed the identity of the visitor.

"Hey Finnick," Nick greeted, opening the door.

"It's Keith! I saw him! He talked to me!" Finnick dispensed with any pleasantries and jumped straight to the point.

 _"Nick? What's going on?"_ Judy tried to listen through the phone's speaker.

Nick pressed a few fingers to his phone's speaker, hoping to block Judy out from his conversation.

"He talked to you?" Nick asked, ears drooping as the last hopes of not seeing Keith shattered. "What was it about? Did he get his butt stuck in another situation?"

"Well, that's the good news. He didn't mention any," Finnick informed. "He seems to just want to see you."

"If you see him again, tell him bluntly and directly to get out of my life. After everything he did, I don't _ever_ want to see his face ever again," Nick growled.

"Okay, I'll tell him that _again._ If I see him," the shorter canine replied.

"Thanks. Need a drink before you go?"

"No. Good night," Finnick turned and left. Nick looked suspiciously as he disappeared round a corner. Finnick never said goodnight. Under casual conditions, he would end with an empty threat or blandly leave without a farewell. Nick grunted and shut the door. _First time for everyone, I guess_.

* * *

"Saw that?" Finnick asked the fox standing behind the corner. The fox sighed, and nodded.

"So I bet you heard that. Just to make it even clearer," Finnick continued. "Don't show your face anywhere near here. _Ever_."

"Maybe he'd change his mind if I see him..."

"Oh no, you _don't_. We had a deal. If Nick said no, _you_ _back off_ ," Finnick growled. The fox he was talking to glared back.

" _Fine_ ," he snarled back and turned to go in another direction. He soon disappeared into the night, not leaving behind another trace.

"Bloody Keith," Finnick grumbled as he entered the back of his van.

* * *

"What was that about?" Judy pressed.

"That was Finnick. Keith contacted him," Nick explained.

"Keith _what?_ " Judy yelled into the phone. Her shriek was enough to make Nick flinch.

"Hey! Hey! Calm down, Carrots! Finnick said he just wanted to see me, and nothing more," Nick grimaced.

"Who's Keith?" a fainter voice asked from the background.

"Oh..." Judy turned and spotted Isaac behind her. "Er...he's..." She stuttered, unsure of how to phrase it.

"He is a crook," Nick told her through the phone.

"What..? But Nick," Judy protested slightly before he cut her off.

"But nothing. He's a crook."

Judy exhaled defiantly, but in the end, used Nick's explanation. "He is a crook," she told Isaac simply.

"Are you guys trying to catch him?" Isaac inquired, curious to know.

"Well, not exactly..."

Nick chuckled upon hearing it.

"That kid's gonna be a detective faster than you," he joked.

"Very funny, Nick."

A short silence started as Judy considered her next question.

"But Nick, are you sure you don't want to see him?"

" _No_ , Carrots, I don't want to see him," Nick emphasised again.

"He might've changed," Judy reasoned, only for Nick's opinion to stay the same.

"I don't care if he changes or not. What he did is unforgivable. And that's final, Judy."

"Okay, okay," she backed down, detecting a mood swing coming from Nick. It was hard to discuss Keith with Nick without him getting upset or irritable.

* * *

 _Nick rarely lost his temper. It would always be an uncommon sight to even see a clenched fist from him. And yet, he felt his cool heat into lava as he saw Keith, and heard his request._

 _"You...you vanish from my life, just when I was nine," Nick shivered as his rage slowly built up. "And now you suddenly appear in front of me just when I turn my life around decades later. To ask me for money?" It had taken all his control to not yell or scream at him. It had taken all his control to not slam the door in his face and forget about everything related._

 _"I know I've made some mistakes in the past..." Keith started. "But how am I going to change if my problems follow me?"_

 _"You're asking me to burn up my savings to help you. After everything you did," Nick growled, baring his teeth._

 _"Yes. Yes, I am. But once you help me, I can disappear from your life. For good," Keith proposed._

* * *

Nick wasn't entirely sure what he had expected. Making deals with Keith started to sound ridiculous. If Nick was going to live out his life being a sly fox conman, Keith had already done it ten times better.

 _Sly as a fox..._

Nick growled as he kicked a random obstacle out of his way as he stormed back to his sofa. Keith had done it ten times better. But he had made one mistake, and his "career" crashed down on him. If Judy hadn't pushed Nick's old mentality out of his brain, he might have ended up in a sticky, messy end, just like how Keith almost did. He did want to know if Keith changed at all, but his curiosity did not override his anger he had at him.

* * *

 _"I know what you did," Judy ended, before storming out of the ZPD headquarters. The officers around stared, unsure of how to react, or whether to react at all. Nick had stood there, unable to do or say anything. Something was going to snap soon._

 _The last one, and he would've gotten out fine. And Judy just had to find out at that precise moment._

 _He had to explain it. And he had to end it. His fists clenched, he walked out the turning door. But not towards Judy._

 _It hadn't taken long. Finnick's van was at its usual nook. And the Fennec fox was, as usual, nearby. And this time, he wasn't alone._

 _"Keith!" Nick pointed at the fox, his fist clenched tightly around a bundle of green. Nick shoved the money to him roughly, causing him to stumble back, looking stunned. "Fulfil your promise. Don't let me see you ever again," Nick growled. Keith hesitated briefly and then nodded, and left, doing what he did best._

 _Disappearing._

 _Nick had collapsed against Finnick's van straight after, eyes screwed shut, with a paw over his face._

 _"What... happened?" he heard Finnick ask as the shorter fox sat next to him._

 _"It's Judy... She found out," he said simply, eyes opening. "It's over..."_

* * *

Nick's paw went back to supporting his head as the stinging memory surfaced. His world had pretty much ended that day. Judy, one of the few people (still around) that had tried to drag him out of his previous mess, leaving him was going to have a devastating effect on him. If she had permanently severed connections with him there and then, he would've collapsed back to the disorder in his life.

* * *

"Shouldn't you be sleeping now?" Judy peered into Isaac's room again. He was already preparing, though it was nearly twelve midnight.

"Okay, okay," Isaac said, crawling under his blanket.

"Good Ni..." Judy started but stopped when she heard a throaty cough from Isaac. She halted, and stared at Isaac.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yes," Isaac replied, turning away. Judy shut off the light, and silently shut the door. Isaac sighed in relief in the darkness, and closed his eyes, just for irritating light to shine on his eyes once again.

"Wha...?" Isaac blinked in annoyance at his open door, and Judy's silhouette. Judy gently moved his head and stuck an ear thermometer into his left ear. "What are you doing?" he sighed.

"Isaac, you have a fever. How are you feeling okay in any way?" Judy huffed, squinting at the thermometer's reading.

"So what if I have a fever..." Isaac grumbled, keeping his head away from the light spilling into his room.

"Maybe you shouldn't go to school tomorrow."

"Why?"

"You're sick," Judy replied simply. Isaac shrugged, and went back to sleep, and Judy took it as a signal that he understood.

* * *

 _"Hey Mom, I think I might have a cold," Isaac told Emma, sniffing in mucus._

 _"Oh that's fine, everybody gets sick once in a while," she replied, taking a gulp from an unmarked bottle._

 _"So...Do I just leave it be?"_

 _"Yep," she grinned, and walked to her own room, closing the door behind her._

* * *

 **A/C**

 **Thanks for reading, if you have anything you want to point out like strengths or flaws, don't forget to leave a review!**


	7. Fever

**A/N**

 **I've gotten some requests to add romance between Judy and Nick. As much as I'm not fully against that, romance is out of my writing style, and if I ever do attempt it, it would look way "out there". I probably won't be trying it in this story.**

 **Anyways, do leave a review when you're done reading, it helps me to improve future chapters.**

* * *

"38 degrees..." Judy murmured, before leaving the room quietly. The door made an almost inaudible, dull thud as it closed, and she flinched from the noise. Just as she turned to go to the kitchen, Isaac's door opened, almost shocking the daylights out of Judy with its sudden blast of sound.

"Isaac? Why are you up so early?"

"What do you mean? I always wake up at this time," he yawned.

"You're sick, you should sleep more," Judy insisted. Isaac stared at her like as if she had two heads, blinking in slight confusion.

"You need rest to recover from a sickness, don't you know that?" Judy explained, slightly irritated that he was treating it like no big deal. Isaac continued to stare for some time, before finally shrugging and going back into his room.

"Breakfast will be in the microwave, okay?" She informed as he disappeared into the room.

Isaac had never treated illnesses like anything too serious. He had always recovered from them, even without much rest. The largest difference that he had when he was sick, was simply a new, minor routine of swallowing some paracetamol from time to time. He never had someone fussing about what he did just because he had a fever or cold.

And in a way, it was annoying. His eyes remained open as he stayed on his mattress. It was hard to alter much of his sleeping patterns and attempts to do so normally resulted in insomnia.

"You're... Still up?" Judy asked as Isaac walked into the kitchen.

"Can't sleep anymore."

Judy hesitated for a while, before handing him breakfast. Just as he took a bite, he felt Judy's paw against his forehead.

"Judy, I'm fine," he sighed, turning around to look at her.

"But you still have a fever. You don't feel any different?"

"Different how?"

"Don't you feel nauseous? Or maybe you at least have a sore throat?"

"I guess so?"

"You're treating this really casually for something that's making you feel bad," Judy commented.

"I always recover from these just fine," he waved off, taking another bite from his omelette.

"Wait...on your own? Without a doctor or anything?"

"Yes?" Isaac replied, a little spooked by the question. Judy secretly made a face as she turned around briefly to wash her hands.

"Okay then, if you still have a fever after I'm back, I'm taking you to see a doctor."

"Fine," he sighed, finishing the last portions of his morning meal.

"Take care, okay?" Judy nagged again, before taking her leave. And with her leave, suffocating silence covered the room like a smothering blanket.

"What a great day ahead," Isaac murmured, sitting in the same spot, slouching on the table. And just as quickly as the sound left, it came back as the doorbell rang. _Did she forget her keys...?_

He opened the door, expecting to see Judy, but it was a taller person. A fox. Nick came to mind, but it clearly wasn't him. Isaac's eyes widened a little at the new face, and he was about to slam the door shut when...

"Is Judy here?"

Isaac didn't reply and only blinked in response.

"Judy!" the fox called, peering into the house over Isaac's head. He waited briefly for a response and sighed when there wasn't any.

"Does she even live here now?" he asked Isaac, who squinted in suspicion instead of answering. The stranger stared back but soon gave up waiting for a reply.

"Great. Even 10-year-old kids treat me like a criminal," he commented dryly. Isaac's eyebrows furrowed at the comment, and he slammed the door shut. He leant against the door, listening to the visitor's muffled apologies.

"Kid? Kid! Come on, at least tell me if she even stays here now!"

Some gentle, but seemingly haphazard knocking resumed but stopped as the stranger placed his ear against the door

"I'm sorry I guessed your age wrong okay? How old are you? Twelve?"

Isaac would've opened the door just to kick him where it would hurt most, but none of that made it out of his imagination. So, instead, he kicked the door.

"Ow!" a muffled yelp from the person outside satisfied him, and he turned to walk away.

And that was when a thought struck him.

 _He's a fox, he knows Judy somehow... "criminal"..._

"Keith," Isaac cringed, staring at the door again. Judy had seemed okay with him over the phone, but Nick definitely wasn't.

He opened the door, this time with the safety latch, and caught the fox leaving.

"Keith?" he called. Despite what he expected, Isaac was surprised when the stranger's ears perked up and when he turned around with a curious glance.

"How do you know my name?"

"Eavesdropping. What are you doing here?"

"Looking for Judy," Keith answered simply and vaguely.

"For what?"

"Do you know my relation to Judy and Nick?"

"A bit."

"Judy still stays here?"

"Yes."

"Okay," Keith ended,and grabbed the door knob, and pulled the door shut before Isaac could react.

"What in the..." Isaac started, opening the door again, only to find that nobody was around. Keith had vanished without a trace.

* * *

"Why are you looking at me like that!" Duke (more like demanded) asked.

"Take a look at yourself, how suspicious do you look?" Judy sighed. The weasel had a large sack of something slung over his shoulder.

"I bought these," he insisted, with one hand fishing through his coat pockets. "Here, the receipt, _take it_."

He turned and stormed away, muttering rudely about biassed officers.

"He bought something," Judy chuckled as she stated.

"It's a little hard to believe," Nick replied. "Unless the receipt is fake."

"No definitely not," Judy muttered, briefly reading the piece of paper. "Wait. He bought... Night howlers."

"What?" Nick lifted his shades, and grabbed the receipt, scrutinising the details.

"Do we stop him?" Judy asked.

"No, we follow him."

* * *

"Why aren't the things illegal yet?" Judy huffed. The two had been following Duke for an hour, and it was beginning to feel like a waste of time.

"With this new idiot provisional mayor, I doubt anything will be done," Nick explained. "He's just sitting there raking in money. Wait, where did Duke go?"

Judy stopped as well. Duke was nowhere in sight.

"What in the world?"

"Well, he bought it. His client might just be a prissy spoilt brat too lazy to walk to the florist," Nick theorised.

"You and your imagination," Judy rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's get back to work."

* * *

Duke sighed as he saw the two walk another way. He was out scot-free.

"Great job with the receipt, idiot," he muttered to himself, continuing on his way. "729 Center, Lauto..."

His eyes widened as he realised where his dropoff was at. A giant mansion. And not giant compared to him. The structure could easily be a school for elephants. A fancy school. Elegant topiary and a tall fountain were brandished in the front gardens, and the mansion itself looked like part of a grand castle.

The weasel licked his paw, and briefly tidied his hair with it, before ringing the bell to enter. The door itself was about double his height. It was just a door, but it was still grand enough to remind Duke that he didn't belong there. The door violently swung open and a short, but thick leopard with a smoking cigarette was revealed. He was dressed in a dark trench coat, with a large, black hat to fit. He rudely studied Duke shortly, grunted, then walked past the weasel on his way out. Duke watched in slight nervousness at the leaving character, before someone called out to him.

"Are you the one buying the flowers?" an otter asked at the door. The animal was most definitely a butler, judging from the suit he was wearing, along with his posture - It was ridiculously straight.

"Yes," Duke replied, heaving as he handed the sack over.

The butler took a look inside the sack, and Duke marvelled at how the otter kept the bag from touching the ground.

"Here is your payment, thank you for your services." With that, the door was shut again, and Duke gained his cash. Duke smirked as he thought of robbing the mansion. Whoever lived there was so rich that the person could pay someone to buy something from the streets two minutes away.

"Someday," he said to the mansion as he left, "Someday."

* * *

Judy smiled as the thermometer read a healthy 36 degrees. Isaac's fever had fully subsided. She stayed squatted beside him for a couple more seconds, before taking her leave. It was late, the both of them had already finished their dinner, and Isaac had gone to bed a little earlier than usual. Judy closed his room door behind her and was about to shut off the living room lights when someone knocked on the front door. Judy checked the time again. It was ten at night. She attached the safety latch, and opened the door, cautiously peering outside.

"Hey, Judy," the figure outside greeted. Judy's eyes widened a little, and she felt her fur get prickly. She shut the door, hastily undid the safety latch, and swung the door open wide.

"Keith?" She asked, not believing her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I just want to ask for some help," Keith started but realised his mistake when Judy gained a look of apprehensiveness at the word. "No, not that kind of problem. Just an...advice thing."

"For what situation would you want advice from me?"

Keith hesitated as he tried to find the words. "A 'Nick' situation. Do I try to go see him?"

Judy returned an expression of uncertainty at the question. "Keith, I can't decide how to solve the problems between you two, it's fully personal," she finally replied.

"I know, but how am I ever going to solve it if he never wants to see me again?" the fox asked.

"I don't know."

"That's it then," he sighed. "No way to fix it."

"There's always a way. But I can't think of one for you," Judy finished. "Sorry, but you're on your own."

"I understand," Keith nodded. A very neutral and tired look took over his facial features, and if Judy hadn't seen it before, she wouldn't have intepreted it as sadness. It was something Nick did when he was forcefully shoving emotion into a corner.

"Night," he finished, and turned to leave.

"Goodnight," Judy returned the farewell, but he was already leaving. Judy couldn't help but feel a slight pang of emotion for him. It must've felt terrible with Nick avoiding him. But out of everything she knew Nick got angry at, Keith was something that he _stayed_ mad at. And he still showed no sign of cooling down. Maybe if Keith talked to him, it would turn out differently.

* * *

 _"You've ruined his life fixing yours," Finnick growled, pointing accussingly at him. As small as the fennec fox was, he could still look threatening. Not a problem._

 _"Did his boss catch us hustling people?" Keith guessed, trying to direct anger away._

 _"Even worse! His partner in the force caught him! And she is mad at him!"_

 _"Who, the rabbit? His life is ruined because a rabbit is angry at him?" Keith asked, already half grinning from the ridiculousness of it all._

 _"You better wipe that smile off your sorry face!" Finnick yelled. "You ruin the one relation he cared so much about and now you're standin' here laughin' at it!"_

 _"The whole damn thing is laughable! Why does he even bother with this?"_

 _"It doesn't matter why he bothers with it. It only matters that he does, and you ruined it for him!"_

 _"Well what do you want me to do? He told me to get out of his life!"_

 _"I am not thinking of a bloody idea to fix it for you! You better find your own solution to this, or seriously start expecting him to never ever talk to you again!"_


	8. Forgive and Forget

**I'm having a little trouble deciphering some of the reviews given, especially those that appear to be trying to say something, but do so in around 3 words or so. It's difficult to gather anything from them, sorry if any mistakes were repeated.**

* * *

 _"A savage tiger was subdued in the western Bunny Burrows this morning. Authorities are still unclear of what had caused it, but evidence suggests that the victim was infected with night howler serum. A cure will be administered to try and reverse the effects. The outcome is still unknown."_

"The bunny burrows? Isn't that where Judy used to live in?" Isaac asked from the car's backseat.

" _Western_ bunny burrows. The burrows is a huge place. I used to live in the south-east side. There's a lot of distance between the two places," Judy explained. "A lot of difference too."

"Like what?" Nick asked, with his eyes still fixed on the road.

"The west bunny burrows is an industrial area. Apparently full of smoke. But that's all my dad ever said about it. I've never been there myself."

"I have," Nick shrugged.

"I've always wanted to know what goes on in there," Judy pressed, interested to know more details.

"It's not a very nice place. The people there are...unfriendly, the houses are all tiny and cramped. And the smog. Smog doesn't even _begin_ to describe that thick... _thing_ all over the place," Nick shivered a little from the description. "I think there was even a crime syndicate there that time."

"That sounds like a rather backward place."

"Crime syndicate?" Isaac inquired from behind.

"Organised crime. The nightmare of nightmares, you don't ever want to get involved in them," Nick replied.

"Were you ever involved?"

"Nah, not really," Nick lied, attracting a suspicious stare from Judy. And she didn't have to wait long before Isaac left the car at his destination. As the vehicle continued with only the two, she all too predictably raised the question.

"Why'd you lie about that?"

"Oh come on, you really want me to tell him the story of Mr Big and the skunk rug within thirty seconds?" Nick answered.

"Well, he is going to find out one day," Judy huffed. If there was one thing she couldn't take from him, it was lying. Unknown to her, he had lied much more than meets the eye, and only a tiny morsel of his nasty little habit was ever caught on her radar. Though he almost never told her a lie that covered up anything serious. After all, it was a disaster the last time he did.

* * *

 _"Where are you rushing off to so early?"_

 _"Oh, I need to meet someone at my place. It's a friend, we're investing in something," Nick casually replied._

 _"I never knew you invested in anything," Judy chuckled, losing most of her interest in it._

 _"Now you know. Anyways, good evening, Carrots. Have a nice day," Nick saluted as he dropped her off at her apartment. He saw her wave goodbye as he drove off. He soon lost sight of her. But he didn't know that she didn't lose sight of him. Judy noticed when he didn't take the usual turn to where he lived. And she had followed him to confirm his story._

 _And that was when she saw him parking his car in an old alleyway. She saw him talking to Finnick, and she saw them both pulling off the very same Pawpsicle hustle, only much faster, and with lesser hiccups than the first time she saw it. She didn't get the same sense of disgust and injustice like the first time she saw the process. She could feel nothing but anger and disappointment. But she didn't directly pop out and confront him. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't bring herself to come out of her hiding spot ask what in the world he was doing. Because for the first time in a long time, her confidence and trust in him had melted off, and the last of her care for him escaped her shut eyes as tears. His story had failed to check out, and she wasn't going to confirm anything else. And so she returned home, locked herself in, her mind at war to decide what to do next._

 _How long has he been doing it?_

 _How much did he care about changing?_

 _What the heck was he thinking?_

 _How long had he **lied** to me?_

 _Never let them see that they got to you..._

 _The same quote had echoed through her._

 _Never let them see that they got to you..._

 _Never let him see that you cared._

 _The tears had stopped, the war had ceased. And she sat there on her bed, feeling the most hollow and empty that she had ever been. And that was how she slept that night. The air conditioner's cooled air felt like little daggers, all stabbing at the imaginary hole in her chest, never stopping, no matter how hard she curled in a ball, no matter how warm or thick the blanket was supposed to be._

 _And before his routine of picking her up in the morning to go to work, she had cancelled it with an unexplained text of "I'll be at work myself"._

 _And she was at work herself. Two hours early. The shift was so different at the time, she didn't even recognise most of her coworkers. But she couldn't sleep, and the gaping feeling she had deterred her from trying._

* * *

Judy wasn't sure why that one tiny little lie incited that chain of unpleasant memories, but in the temporary tunnel vision created in the memory's wake, she couldn't help but wonder what else he was hiding. But the suspicion washed away as she remembered why he did it.

 _He was just helping Keith. He is not a bad person at heart. He was just helping Keith_.

 _Keith._

She stopped as she thought of him, and the conversation she had with him the night before. She wanted to talk to Nick. To try and mend the bond between them. But she knew, from her previous attempts to talk to him about Keith, that Nick wanted nothing to do with him.

* * *

"Hopps, Wilde," Bogo began. "I'm sure you saw the news about that savage case in the west bunny burrows."

Judy raised an eyebrow as she heard it. It was not ordinary for the chief to mention something too far off for no good reason.

"Your assignment today is to check the cargo stations. Look out especially for night howlers, and check as many as you can," he finished.

"That sounds straightforward," Judy shrugged after the chief left.

"Trust me, it is not," Nick sighed, already looking tired.

"Why?"

"You see, Carrots, this is the _heart_ of Zootopia. And guess what? There're tonnes of trade going on. You probably saw the cargo stations in the train here," he explained briefly. Judy tried to think back, and she could pretty much only remember the razzle dazzle of the city, with all the electronics and special fittings to suit different animals.

"I don't think I saw it," she replied as they both entered their cruiser.

"You will soon. And you would only like it for a very short time," Nick chuckled.

* * *

"How are you Rabbitfox?" was the first greeting Isaac got when he stepped into the classroom. The lessons haven't started, and some students haven't arrived yet. But Ryan was there. Isaac frowned at him, but otherwise didn't respond and continued to walk to his seat. The fox peered at the wall clock and sighed. Twenty whole minutes before the first lesson started.

 _Not going to sit here and listen to Ryan's crap for twenty minutes._

He simply leant forward to sleep, resting his head on the table. He wasn't really tired, but maybe if he looked like he was sleeping, Ryan would cease to annoy him. Those present before lessons normally took naps, played with their phones or rushed unfinished homework. A faint rustle and disturbance behind him alerted him, and he jerked up, catching Ryan rooting through his bag.

"What's your problem?" He growled, zipping his bag shut.

"Oh you unpacked your _diary_ ," Ryan stated with a smirk. "Oh aren't you afraid _your dear bunny_ would read it?" Isaac glared in response, not saying anything in reply.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" He teased, poking Isaac's forehead. Isaac slapped away his finger, murmuring under his breath.

"What was that?"

" _Bastard_ ," Isaac repeated glaring straight at the lion. Ryan simply laughed at the insult. Multiple classmates stared at the scene, noting the tense surroundings.

" _Idiot_. Do you even know what that means? Check the dictionary," he said, flicking Isaac's snout. "It means the child of unmarried parents. And guess what? You don't even have a parent left. All you have is a dumb _bunny_."

And that was it. There was a simple yell, and the two began a fight. Isaac gave Ryan a nasty bruise on the cheek and got a black eye in return.

"Hey! Break up you two! Quit it!" the loud voice immediately stopped the fight as the two looked up. As they both feared, it was their teacher.

And of all days, today was the day she had picked to come early.

"Go back to your seats. I want to speak to both of you after the lesson."

* * *

"This place is beautiful."

And that was the first comment Judy made when the cargo station came into sight. It wasn't a disgusting and dark place like she had imagined with boxes all over. Instead, the containers were brightly coloured and were arranged in systematic order, all in a slow queue to the left end where trucks and lorries picked up their goods. Behind the sea of colour, the tallest buildings of Zootopia peaked, and at the high point where the cruiser was, Judy could see the trees of the Rainforest District peaking.

"Beautiful?" Nick smirked as he asked. "Well Carrots, we need to check them." Judy's look of awe soon dissolved into a look of dismay and the once dazzling scene turned into an endless mass of containers.

"You _really_ know how to crush the mood," she grumbled.

"You make it so easy," he retaliated.

"Come on, time to begin work," Judy huffed.

* * *

"Oh look, I found your favourite," Nick laughed, raising a carrot and waving it at Judy.

"Put that back," Judy sighed. "You're not supposed to touch the cargo." Nick chuckled as he threw the carrot back into the container's stash, and shut the top hatch tightly. Judy picked out a medium box from one of the containers and peered at it curiously.

"How in the world do we check what's in this?" Judy asked, looking for an opening in the sealed cardboard box.

"That's what this is for," Nick replied, throwing a tape sealer. Judy caught the device with a paw.

"So, I just tear it open?" Judy asked, a little shocked by the solution.

"Does it say 'fragile' or 'do not accept when open'?"

"Well, no..."

"Then yep. Open it."

Judy placed the box on the top of the container and peeled off the tape keeping the box closed.

"What?" She made a face as she stared at the contents. "Packets of fried crickets...?"

"Oh come on, that isn't new to you," Nick said while peering into another container.

"There is no way these checks are accurate," Judy commented as she re-sealed the cardboard box and returned it to its container.

"What, you want to check every little box and can in every container?" the fox heaved as he twisted a drum's cover open. He peered into it and sniffed the substance within. Judy checked the manifest and moved on. Unable to check most of the containers, the pair had to check random containers in no systematic order to cover more ground. She came across her new target within a few steps and peered at the hatch on the top. She looked at the manifest again and picked out the details of the container she was at. She halted as she saw a familiar name.

"What a box you're checking, who's transporting this one?" Nick started, peering at his copy of the manifest. His smirk dropped as he saw who it was.

"Nick, there's... something I might need to tell you," Judy said, hesitating.

"What might that be?" he asked after a brief moment of silence.

"It's... about your dad..."

"Judy," Nick stopped. "I don't have a dad anymore."

"Just hear me out okay? I know what you feel against him isn't the best, but he's trying hard to reach you. Can't you at least give him a chance."

"Isn't the best? He _left_ me and came back years later to ask me for _money._ It's very far from the best," Nick mood was already starting to tip as he glared at the container.

"Nick... All he wants to do is apologise," Judy ended. Nick continued staring at the container and sighed.

"You and Finnick share the same view. But Finnick can blank it out," Nick commented. The rabbit looked for a few moments longer, before finally deciding to drop it. She _was_ being intrusive on the matter. Probing in other's business.

"Maybe I should stop blanking it out," Nick said, peering at the manifest again. Judy's ears perked up, and she stared at him, slightly shocked at his reaction.

"I'm curious to see that blueberry juice he's shipping," Nick's smirk returned, and he opened the hatch. Judy smiled as her shock wore off. He peered into the container and frowned.

"What is it?"

"Something smells wrong," Nick declared and slipped inside the container.

"What?" Judy followed him in and saw him twisting a drum's cover open.

"Why is he using drums to transport blueberry juice?" Judy asked, peering into the contents of the drum.

"Wait. Something's not right," the fox frowned. Something about the stench was vaguely familiar.

"This doesn't smell like blueberries," Judy noticed as well, observing the contents of the drum. It was a dark blue liquid, but without any major traits. Judy went closer and extended her paw to touch the substance.

"Don't touch it!" Nick halted, pushing her back.

"What is it?" She asked again, alarmed at Nick's sudden outburst.

"This..." he began, trembling. "I know what this smell is..."

"Well?" Judy pressed, starting to get annoyed.

"It smells like... Doug's lab."

Judy's eyes widened, and she stared at the substance again.

"No...no no, this can't be right!" Judy immediately leapt out, and checked the manifest's name again, for the glimmer of hope that it wasn't who it was.

The hope shattered as the container's unique number matched to the same name she had seen before.

 _Keith Wilde_


	9. Resent and recall

Judy couldn't believe it. She couldn't comprehend it. And never in her wildest dreams would it ever happen. And it felt worse than the time she had severed connections with Nick. She had probably convinced Nick to talk to him again, and before Nick even began to try, Keith provided another reason for Nick to continue his attitude. Chief Bogo came personally with a team of officers and specialists, the latter responsible for testing the identity of the dark blue solution. They had checked Nick and Judy for any signs of contamination, and each soon went about their business, around the container with the supposed night howler serum.

"Any idea where to find Keith?" Chief Bogo asked in private.

"Well, not exactly. He has a reputation of disappearing," Judy replied.

"I can find him," Nick offered. "All it takes is a call."

"Nick..." Judy started. The fox gave her a look and she hesitated, her mouth pinched shut.

"Chief Bogo, we've conducted the tests. That is night howler serum," a voice mentioned. "Shall we start containing it?"

"Yes. Start," the buffalo permitted simply. "Nick, bring him in."

"Not a problem," Nick mumbled fishing out his phone and moving to a private corner away from the others.

* * *

The phone rang once.

Twice.

Three times.

 _"Who is this?"_

"Nick."

There was a silence on the other end before some rustling of fabric was heard.

 _"Nick?"_

"I need to speak to you. Can you meet me at the cargo station," Nick made it sound like it was an order instead of a question. But Keith wasn't going to pass it up.

 _"I'll be there."_

* * *

"Time for all of you to hide," Nick blatantly stated.

"You should've given us a heads-up before calling," Bogo replied, annoyed, before signalling for the officers and specialists present to pause their work.

"Wait, you just called him to lure him here into a trap?" Judy asked.

"Yes. We can ask him in headquarters."

"This might be a little overboard," Judy mentioned.

"Look at this evidence and look me in the eye and tell me you don't believe he did it," Nick replied.

"What evidence?" a voice asked. Keith was standing behind them, arms crossed. Judy hesitated but soon shot a glance at Nick before giving the two some privacy.

"You're not forgiving me here. What's the catch?" Keith asked, frowning. Nick stared for some time, before clearing any emotion he had at the moment.

"Keith Wilde, you are under arrest for the suspected smuggling of illegal goods. You have the right to..."

"Suspected smuggling of _what_?" Keith cut him off, glaring at him.

"Night howler serum," Nick replied simply.

"I did _not_ smuggle _anything_. And I am _not_ involved in night howler serums," Keith argued.

"Evidence points against you," Nick replied simply. Keith glanced back as a shadow loomed over him.

The chief and two other officers had surrounded him.

"Fine. Go ahead and arrest me. I have nothing better to do anyway," Keith glared at Nick.

* * *

"He has been denying it over and over. We could put him in jail through a lawsuit, but I'm starting to believe that he didn't do it," Chief Bogo reported.

"You can't be serious, his criminal record could be as good as a few kilometres long," Nick stated.

"Scamming. He was jailed for a few weeks for it," the buffalo stated. "And that's it."

Nick huffed, and glared at Keith through the one-way mirror.

"Maybe I could talk to him," Judy offered. The chief stared at her briefly and swiftly denied her.

"You are too related to the suspect. And so is Nick."

"What relation do I have with him?" Judy asked.

"Maybe a biassed view," Nick muttered. His comment was unheard by the chief but earned him a glare from Judy.

"No means no, Hopps," Bogo snorted in reply, turning to leave.

"I don't think he did it."

"Why does _everybody_ think that? Just because he said he didn't, doesn't mean he didn't," Nick growled.

"It very obviously doesn't look like he did it! It could be some sort of mistake," Judy argued.

"And what mistake can land a few drums of _night howler serum_ in _his_ container?"

"If we investigate, maybe we can find out."

"There is _nothing_ to investigate!"

"Just because he hasn't done anything right before doesn't mean he can't do anything right _now_!"

"I _know_ him, and I _know_ he _isn't_ innocent in this," Nick continued.

"No, you _don't_ know him! When was the last time you _ever_ got to know him?"

"After all he did you're telling me to trust him even though all physical evidence we have points to him?" Nick asked. "You want me to believe something stupid happened that made night howler serum mysteriously appear in his container?"

"I..."

"What is it you're doing? Still trying to get me to forgive him? I only _considered_ it in the cargo station, and _instantly_ something he did surfaced right in my _face_!" Nick yelled.

"This is going to keep you two separated for _good!_ "

"Judy my family isn't _like_ yours. We don't have such _fine and dandy_ relationships like you do, we've _always been separated!_ He _left_ me when I was shorter than Isaac, and he _disappeared_ from me and my mother for more than a _decade. He left us to rot on our own!_ And after all that time, he comes to _me_ after I've _finally_ turned my sorry life around to ask _me_ for my _life savings_ to pay off his _crap_!"

Judy's glare melted away, and she stood, looking down at the floor. There was a long silence as Nick forced himself to cool down.

"Judy," Nick finally said, "that day you found out about it... If Finnick didn't tell you, he could've cut you away as well."

Judy turned up to look at him with a softened expression.

"Nick... Finnick didn't tell me," she admitted.

"What?"

"Keith came personally to tell me himself."

Nick stared at her, unable to say anything. _At least he did one thing right._

"I'm sorry I kept persisting with this. I just didn't want to make the same mistake of relying too much on something I don't fully understand. It was really stupid of me to get angry at you without clarifying that time," Judy apologised.

"It's... fine. After all, at least he did something rig..." Nick paused as he looked at the one-way mirror. Judy followed his gaze and froze as well, face turning beetroot. Although Keith couldn't see them, he apparently could hear them. And his ear was pressed up against the mirror. He apparently noticed the abrupt silence and he stared at the mirror, coincidentally at Nick and Judy, and mouthed "Sorry" before edging back to the table behind him. And there he sat, staring awkwardly at the one-way mirror.

"Lets, go back to our cubicles," Judy whispered. Nick nodded, and the two walked out...

...to a room full of gawking officers.

"How much did you all hear?" Nick whispered to Fangmire, the closest officer.

* * *

 _"Is this Mrs Scarlet?"_

"This is Judy Hopps, Isaac's Guardian. May I help you?" Judy clarified through her phone.

 _"I'm Isaac's form teacher, and I'm wondering if I could arrange a meeting with you sometime soon?"_

"What for?"

 _"Well, simply for a discussion about your ward. Do you happen to be free at two today?"_

"Yes, for about an hour. Would Isaac be there?"

 _"Preferably not. Would that be inconvenient?"_

"Definitely not. Where can I meet you?"

 _"I'll be at the general office. It's the building with the rounded top."_

"Alright, I'll be there," Judy finished before hanging up.

"What was that about?" Nick asked.

"It's Isaac's teacher. Apparently she wants to discuss Isaac," Judy explained.

"About what?"

"No idea."

"So... do I just drop you off there?"

"Nah, she wants to meet me privately, I think. You probably still need to fetch Isaac."

* * *

"Oh, you're Judy Hopps?"

"Yes," Judy replied, raising an eyebrow. Isaac's form teacher was a Lynx, and she was wearing a rather (rudely) dubious expression. Then again, it wasn't often that one met a rabbit officer with a fox as their ward. The teacher cleared her throat, and apologised, before leading Judy into what seemed like a conference room. The two took a seat, and the discussion began.

"How is Isaac at home?" the lynx asked.

"Well, he's fine. I guess," Judy replied. Now that she thought of it, she hardly knew what it was that Isaac did in his free time. The teacher hesitated, before continuing.

"One of his teachers caught him in a fight," she said simply.

" _What?_ "

"After some checking, it was apparently a provoked fight."

"What happened?" Judy asked.

"One of his classmates was apparently poking fun at..." the teacher paused as she thought of the words to use. "Having a rabbit as his guardian," she finally finished. _I could arrest him for it._ Judy refrained from saying.

"But... the school will deal with that... As of now... what does Isaac think of it?" the teacher asked.

"We've never discussed anything like that," Judy replied.

"I see," the lynx paused as she reached for a small stack of papers on the table.

"Anyway, Isaac has been performing... not too well in his academics," the teacher continued, passing the papers to Judy. They were some of Isaac's tests, and even if the big, red, circled marks were hidden, Judy could've seen the numerous crosses all over them. The rabbit cringed slightly at the marks.

"Well, you might need to begin... monitoring him. He did improve very slightly, but at the current rate, he won't make it in time for the semifinals."

* * *

"Wow, he has a zero?" Nick asked.

" _Yes!_ " Judy replied, still staring at the papers.

"What are you going to do?"

Judy groaned, burying her face in the test papers.

"I have _no_ idea..."

"You could... ask your parents," Nick suggested.

"My parents? They don't care about results, they never bothered to deal with anything like _this_."

"Oh come on, maybe some relative?"

"Well, maybe, but I don't know any that definitely care..."

"Call all of 'em," Nick grinned.

"Nick, I literally have hundreds of relatives with kids."

"Then one of them will know what to do," Nick replied smugly.

"Not doing it," Judy sighed. "Not a chance."

"Oh come on," he chuckled.

"Not funny. Isaac's going to flunk _everything._ Except history. He seems okay with history," Judy calmed down a little as she saw his history paper.

"What history, the Great War?"

"Apparently, yes," Judy replied.

"Yikes, he is learning that really young..."

"I've long forgotten all of this... I can't even teach him now," Judy commented, flipping through Isaac's mathematics paper.

"No, you didn't. How can you forget something so..." Nick paused to look at the paper as he stopped at a traffic light. "... what is this, Greek?"

"Nick, that's simple algebra."

"Nobody needs that junk in future."

"Well not directly, but the skills involved are highly valuable..."

"I must've never needed those skills," Nick smirked.

"Rubbish. You're a cop, you're bound to use it."

"Can't use what you never learnt."

"Real funny, Nick."

* * *

"Welcome back you two," Clawhauser greeted as Nick and Judy returned from their break.

"Hello Ben," Judy greeted as she went behind the counter.

"Oh and Isaac." The fox behind the counter turned to peer at her. "Here are your papers."

Isaac's eyes widened slightly as he took the papers, and he bit his lip as Judy left with Nick.

"Oh boy," he murmured, as Benjamin peeked at his papers.

"Well, at least she didn't kill you here," the cheetah tried to comfort. Isaac turned up to say something but paused.

"Hey, is that a doughnut in your neck?"


	10. Isaac's Journal

_4 March 2003_

 _Mom got drunk again. Sometimes I wonder how she doesn't crash into something while she drives back._

 _Sure am glad she never drives me._

 _3 more days before power gets shut off._

* * *

 _6 March 2003_

 _History finally started on the Great War. Finally something other than the founding of Zootopia._

 _Brandon hates History. He says it's the one thing he can't study for. Rubbish. You don't even need to study for it._

 _Heard that my Mom is losing her job soon. Again. Something about unstable emotions._

 _1 more day before power gets shut off._

* * *

 _7 March 2003_

 _If my Mom ever got drunk, she was never more drunk than this. Been singing the same stupid song for 3 hours straight. I would've stayed in school, but the teacher told me to go home after 3pm. Last day with power on, if she still doesn't pay the bill._

 _She could always sell her car anyway. Not like she needs it for anything other than arriving late for work in style._

 _Phone broke. Guess I can only use my laptop. Wish I had ear plugs._

* * *

 _8 March 2003_

 _Been in school. Still in school. Nobody's chasing me out yet._

 _Janitor chased me out of class. It was 7pm._

 _Went home._

 _Nothing works. Lights are off. Mom wasn't home. Maybe off with her friends again. Went to bed._

* * *

 _9 March 2003_

 _Dear Journal,_

 _So much in one day._

 _Came back from school just to see Mom getting arrested._

 _Went to the police station and saw her dragged off to jail._

 _And then I got adopted by a bunny. A rabbit cop. Would've been laughing if it wasn't me. Hopefully, nobody ever finds out._

 _She has a nice house. At least it has power. I can charge my laptop here. She seems a little hyperactive, hope she doesn't drag me to go jogging or something. The fridge is full of vegetables. Won't be snacking anytime soon._

* * *

 _10 March 2003_

 _Judy has no idea what she's doing. This morning she somehow managed to turn scrambled eggs into hard boiled eggs, and guess what I had for breakfast. And she packed a vegetable sandwich for my lunch. Luckily Nick gave me some money to buy lunch. Bought a pack of chips. Totally worth it._

 _Stayed at the police headquarters after school. Met the receptionist. Funny guy. He gave me a donut. Almost felt bad to leave that stinking sandwich in his bin._

 _Correction, Judy and Nick have no idea what they're doing. They forgot to eat because they had no idea where I went. Good job officers. _

* * *

_11 March 2003_

 _Judy actually figured out how to make scrambled eggs. Glad to know I won't be eating hard boiled eggs every morning. Now I wonder if I'm eating scrambled eggs all the time... well, better than plain bread._

 _Nick apparently didn't graduate from college. Thought you needed to before you could go officer academy. Must've been wrong._

 _He came over in the afternoon. Showed a bunch of magic tricks. Figured out all of em._

 _I'm really curious about him. I know nothing about him. Except that he probably isn't too good in math._

 _Judy's parents called. I walked behind her and apparently they spotted me. They don't even know Nick was a fox. Hope I didn't cause too much trouble._

 _Nick called me Hobbit. Hope that doesn't stick._

 _Judy bought back a great meal. She seemed_ _pissed for some reason. Must've been a queue. She ate instant noodles instead of buying something for herself outside. Clutz._

 _Know nothing about Judy either. Learnt that she came from Bunny Burrows._

 _Caught her talking to her parents later in the night. They invited her back to the burrows. They wanted her to take me with her so that they could meet me. Heard the place was full of rabbits and stuff. Going to be awkward with me there._

* * *

 _11-12 March 2003_

 _4am. Went to the toilet. Heard a thump in Judy's room. She might've rolled off her bed in her sleep._

* * *

 _12 March 2003_

 _Judy, stop reading my bloody journal._

* * *

 _12 March 2003_

 _My journal's bookmark was on the floor when I got back. She must've been flipping through my journal. Even my Mom_ _didn't do that. Heard that Judy? Alcoholic, drug-loving Emma Scarlet has better morals than you. I'm bringing my journal to school tomorrow. Just in case._

* * *

 _13 March 2003_

 _Bad idea of bad ideas. Ryan stole my journal and read it with half the class. Lovely, everybody knows about Judy now. Brandon's probably the only one that doesn't mind. Judy is his idol. Something about her solving some savage case._

 _Then again, Brandon is one person out of the entire class._

 _The old deer said we had to get parent's signatures for the chemistry paper (5/30 woohoo). I hope leaving it on the table works for Judy. But judging by her personality so far, I think she's going to shriek at the marks._

 _Benjamin told me Judy and Nick had a pretty bad fight before. Something about something Nick did. Seems unbelievable. Ben doesn't know anything else._

 _I wanna know more, it seems interesting. Those two get along weirdly well. Then again, she blew up before. Hope she doesn't blow up at me._

 _Judy just looked at the marks and gave some interrogation about the rest of my grades. She didn't look angry, but she's still scary._

 _I should start studying instead of watching videos on my computer all the time._

 _Guess I'll be leaving this at home. I prefer Judy reading it than bloody Ryan. At least there's a chance that she didn't even read it._

 _Overheard Judy talking to Nick on the phone. Something about some guy named Keith. Asked about him. Nick told Judy to tell me that he's a crook. They must be trying to catch him. But Nick seems to really have a bad history with him. I still know nothing about that fox._

* * *

 _14 March 2003_

 _Judy forced me to stay home today. Had a mild fever. She went off her rockers about it. Mom never gave a hoot, and neither did I._

 _Judy actually made something other than scrambled eggs today. It was some sort of creamy pastry. Don't know what it was, but it tasted like blueberry._

 _Tried to sleep. Can't sleep. Doorbell rang. Opened the door._

 _I actually met Keith!_

 _But I know nothing about Nick, Keith was as good as a stranger. He pestered to know if Judy was in, and simply disappeared after he got the answer. What is it with these people..._

* * *

 _15 March 2003_

 _Nick said he'd been to the Western Bunny Burrows. He said it was some smoggy industrial place with a crime syndicate. Sounds cool. He said he never got involved in one though. Was a little disappointed. But I guess if he had a history with those, he'd never be hired as a cop. Had to go to school for remedial today. Burning my Saturday like that. Lucky little Brandon didn't need to come._

 _I'm finished. My form teacher gave Judy my screwed up papers. I'm so dead. She is going to murder me._

 _And she met my form teacher. She must've told Judy about the fight I had with Ryan. Well, Judy probably would've squeezed it out of me after seeing this ridiculous black eye._

 _Nick and Judy took me out to get something for the black eye before going home. Didn't feel like it helped. They seemed pretty distant. Like something happened. Ben told me that they had a fight but then made up for it within a few seconds. Those two sound like some married couple. Maybe I should ask if they have a thing for each other. Would be hilarious. But then again, it is pretty touchy. Probably shouldn't_

 _In my room now. She'd call me out any moment now._

 _Different lecture. She told me that I needed to start working for real this time. Said whatever I was doing for History should be done for the rest of the subjects. Told her I didn't do anything for history. She interrogated me for all the homework I had for the weekend. She insisted that I finish them, along with the rest of the late homework that I had. Guess I won't be sleeping for some time._

 _Stayed up to do homework._

 _She wouldn't let me stay up! There is no way I can finish all this junk if I sleep at this time! But I'm not arguing to do homework. My head is killing me after all those geography questions about coasts. Honestly who cares about how fast rocks are eroded. It's not like it's going to happen in your lifetime. Probably not even the next generation's lifetime._

* * *

 _16 March 2003_

 _Judy asked about what I thought of her adopting me._

 _Lied and said that I'm okay. Didn't want to hurt her feelings for no reason. But it isn't far from the truth. It was a little weird and out there, but I'm mostly okay with it. So she asked why I fought Ryan over it._

 _I don't know. Just got pissed at his stupid behaviour._

 _Of course, I didn't tell her that._

 _Spent morning finishing homework. Judy caught me after I sped through 2 papers. Told me to finish it sparingly and said I was killing myself rushing through so many at once. Guess I can do them slowly then._

 _Nick was meeting Keith in jail. Heard Judy talking to him about it. I did not know Keith was Nick's dad. Then again, they look alike in their own way. And they're both stupidly mysterious. I wonder why Keith is in jail. Judy made an omelette for lunch before rushing off to investigate something. She wasn't on duty, and she went in her casual wear. Overachiever. She told me she was investigating some cargo recipient with Nick. Overachiever s. That or Nick was dragged along. It seems pretty likely._

 _Lovely homework for the rest of the day._

 _Judy came back pretty pissed about something. She flushed when I asked what it was about. She replied "stupid vixens with too much money" and something about Nick being unprofessional. Weird, he seems always more or less unprofessional. Whatever it was, she cooled down pretty quickly. Just in time to invite Nick over for a movie. He brought popcorn. Sweet._

 _Should not have watched that. Should not have watched that. That was the most horrifying thing I've ever seen in a long time. Good thing we don't have a basement. Those two are unfazed by it. Halfway through I just went back to my room. Glad I didn't see the other half. Why do people like getting nightmares over horror movies. Or maybe they don't get nightmares. I'll never know for sure. I guess I won't be sleeping well tonight. Can still hear screaming from the TV, and Nick laughing at something. How does he ever laugh at something like that show?_

 _If Judy seemed unfazed during the movie, she definitely didn't look unfazed afterwards. Nick had a great time scaring the daylights out of her at every corner. It was pretty funny to watch. They talked briefly about Keith during dinner, Nick said he finally talked to him. I really wanted to ask about it, but it sounded like a really sensitive conversation, so I just listened. They talked about some guy named Gideon. Apparently, he gave Judy a scar. She showed it to me. It looked cool. She forgave him already, and he now collaborated with her parents._

 _March holidays are coming up. At least I'd have time to finish the homework._

 _The lights in the living room remained on the whole night, even after Judy went to bed. Not that I'm complaining._


	11. Jasmine Vulpes

**A/N**

 **Sorry that this one took longer than expected. Had to rewrite it once.**

 **Just to clarify, I didn't really get the date wrong on Isaac's Journal. I couldn't find a canon date anywhere, so I made up my own.**

 **Also, there were reviews about grammar errors and spelling errors, I checked, and other than Isaac's Journal (with some intended "errors" and "point form" language), the rest seem fine. Do try and point out some of the errors (of course, only if you have the time).**

 **Cheers**

* * *

"729 Center, Lauto..." Judy read out. "Yep, this is the place."

"This house is easily as big as Mr Big's," Nick commented, staring at the mansion. "You'd better re-check your facts, Carrots. You could lose your job over this."

"What? Why?"

"Look at the house, what do you see?"

It was indeed a spectacular sight. A white and gold mansion, with a vast garden, topped with a giant fountain and elegant topiary.

"What about it?" Judy asked, turning to look at Nick.

"Whoever lives here, is dirt _rich._ You really should check your notepad again."

"Well, whoever bought Keith's cargo lives here," Judy started, flipping through her notepad again. "Jasmine Vulpes."

"Vulpes?"

"What about it?"

"I heard of her. Mr Big mentioned her after our..." Nick paused as he coughed. "Trade."

"What did he say about her?"

"He said that I reminded him of Jasmine Vulpes."

"Seems suspicious enough," Judy commented and stared at the mansion. The two were more or less concealed in Nick's car. They were off duty, but Judy insisted on chasing the case. And so, there they were.

"What exactly are you planning to do, knock on her door while wearing that?" Nick asked, gesturing to Judy. She was wearing an all-too-casual flannel shirt.

"Of course not," she huffed.

"We're doing a stakeout for no reason aren't we," Nick sighed, still hoping that her answer would be no.

"Well, there is a reason..."

"We don't know what she's doing, Judy. And I've never seen Jasmine Vulpes in my life."

"And...?"

"Probably means she never goes out."

"Hey is that her?"

Nick's lost smirk found Judy as she peered at the mansion's front door. The two were still in Nick's car, which was parked quite a distance from the front door. They could see an arctic fox leaving the mansion. She was the direct opposite of what Judy expected a rich person to look like. Jasmine Vulpes was wearing rather simple clothing, a plain blouse, and jeans. If she was mixed into a crowd of people, nobody would've been able to tell that she was from a wealthy background just by looking.

"Let's follow her," Judy stated, keeping her eyes on her target.

A few seconds passed, and she got no reply.

"Nick?" she turned, only to be greeted with a stupid, dazed smile. Not directed at her. Judy looked at Nick with a raised eyebrow and then turned to look at Jasmine again. The arctic fox was already beyond her garden, swiftly making her way to wherever her destination was.

"Nick!" Judy huffed, jabbing him in his snout. He yelped, and stared at Judy with a ridiculous shocked expression. If she wasn't annoyed, she would've been laughing.

"Drive? She's getting away."

"Oh. Right." The car jerked to a start and cruised after its target just as she disappeared around a corner.

* * *

"Look! She turned into some alley!" Judy pointed. She was, indeed, difficult to spot. Jasmine looked remarkably average. The car slowly drove past the alley, revealing Jasmine handing a fifty dollar bill to what seemed like a homeless rabbit. Judy cringed slightly at the sight of the pitiful animal. Jasmine whispered something to him, before walking off, leaving the rabbit to stare at his new money.

"Well, she doesn't seem like someone that would buy night howler serums..." Judy commented. No reply.

" _Nick!_ " Judy shrieked as she caught him zoning off again.

"Sorry," he wheezed.

"Not the time for a crush now!"

"What crush, I don't have a crush," he denied, all too quickly. Judy opened her mouth to reply, but her eyes caught Jasmine walking into another store.

"She entered that supermarket?"

"What's so weird about that?"

"We can't track her in there, the place has like four exits!"

"I could go in."

Judy gave an unamused stare at Nick, before denying him.

" _I'm_ going in. You're staying here."

"Hold on, it's the middle of the road, I can't stay here for long."

Judy hesitated as she tried to think of an idea, but the mere frustration of losing Jasmine was enough to send her skin crawling and her concentration sprawling.

"I'll just go to the nearest carpark. I'll catch up with you in there," Nick decided for her, detecting her stress. With a quick "Okay", Judy rushed out the car into the supermarket, leaving Nick to search for the closest place to park his car.

* * *

Jasmine's purchase was rather curious (For a fox, at least). Multiple onions, a pair of goggles, gloves, asparagus, spinach... Even the cashier looked slightly amused.

"She's leaving the building," Judy hissed to Nick through the phone.

 _"_ _I just left the car. Don't wait up for me."_

"Got it."

The arctic fox was rushing slightly, and Judy almost had trouble keeping up with her through the crowd. Jasmine was holding her bag of oddball items with one hand, with the other hand occupied with her smartphone. She soon broke through the crowded area and started walking in the direction her mansion with decreased speed along an empty street. Her pursuer followed, lagging way behind to stay hidden. If Judy had seen what was on Jasmine's screen...

But she didn't.

Jasmine stopped unexpectedly, causing Judy to duck into a nearby alley. The vixen stared into her phone, frowning, and continued walking, keeping the phone in her pocket. Judy choked down a sigh of relief, trying to move as silently as possible.

"Judy."

"Come on," Judy replied, recognising Nick's voice.

"Hey, maybe you could just walk normally? You look like a thief."

"She almost spotted me just now," Judy hissed back, peeved that Nick could attract Jasmine's attention.

"If she spotted you walking normally, I doubt she'd care," he shrugged, continuing forward, threading lightly, but not looking beyond casual, with his usual slouch and a bored expression. He picked up his phone, ready to look down at it if Jasmine were to notice him.

The rabbit sighed and tried to follow Nick, but although her footsteps were far from audible to her partner, they were elephant's steps to her compared to before, and she started to feel more and more anxious that Jasmine would turn around.

But she didn't. Judy relaxed, her worry slowly vanishing...

...just to flare back to life as Jasmine stopped again. Judy immediately panicked, zipping behind the closest obstacle she could find (which was a car parked beside the road). Nick paused, stunned by Judy's sudden disappearance, and started to follow when he spotted Jasmine staring right at him. He instantly froze. His previous plan of simply looking down at his phone went up in smoke. For a few seconds, the two foxes locked eyes, with the red fox looking shellshocked. Nick cleared his throat, and turned around, walking (nearly running) in the opposite direction of the arctic fox. Jasmine seemed slightly humoured but didn't say anything as she saw Nick disappear out of sight behind a corner. She remembered that that particular alley led to a dead end. Judy gaped at Nick (more accurately, at the corner Nick ran behind), completely speechless at his reaction.

 _Since when did he ever fall for anybody? An expert con-artist used to hustling people with his mouth alone, and he's reduced to... this._

Judy sighed and stormed over to the alley the moment Jasmine was out of sight.

Nick was silently cursing in his temporary hiding spot. _Shameful. Absolutely shameful._

"Nick. You do know we need to meet her sooner or later right?" Judy asked, leaning against a wall beside him. The rabbit's question interrupted Nick's thoughts, and his face contorted.

"That's not gonna turn out well," Nick commented. If Jasmine was questioned by a clutz that gave her the starry eyes just the day before... Nick shivered at all sorts of possible reactions from her.

"You," Judy started, stringing her words together. "You need to go find a love life after this case."

"No, I don't."

"Are you happy dating random _suspects_?"

"No. But you ladies are expensive," the fox stated, instinctively cocking his head at her, expecting an instant reaction.

" _What?_ "

And he got it.

"Maybe not you," he chuckled, "You're cheap."

"Is that supposed to be a _compliment_?" Judy huffed. Nick paused dramatically to ponder.

"You're an officer, Carrots," Nick smirked as he started walking. "Figure it out."

* * *

 _This is the worst idea ever._

Duke was disappointed. It was the blandest place he had ever been. Despite the grand appearance of the mansion, it looked horribly plain on the inside. Well, at least the rooms he had been in were horribly bland. It was a bedroom, easily a guest room. It was the seventh room Duke "visited". There was nothing to be found. Every drawer was empty. He didn't want to go into the main rooms of the mansion. The last thing he needed was to be caught by the butler or the fox. But even then, he had caught a glimpse of the living room. It was as large as an average apartment, but there was nothing worth taking (Other than the flatscreen television, that was way too bulky to sneak out). No fancy ornaments or gold candle stands like he had envisioned.

 _Stupid place._

Duke was in the eighth room, and he was getting weary. It was the same thing as the others. Plain. One bed, a wardrobe, a locked window, and a plain carpet. The weasel paused, his ears perking up as he heard footsteps. Fast footsteps. In a panic, he opened the wardrobe, and climbed inside, shutting the door as carefully as possible.

 _Nobody would enter a guest room..._ he thought, trying to calm his beating heart. He peeped between the wardrobe doors, watching quietly.

An arctic fox entered, carrying a plastic bag, shutting the door behind her. A click echoed as she locked it. The fox seemed to look behind her warily, before doing something Duke had never expected. She slid the carpet aside, revealing a trapdoor beneath. The vixen unbolted the trapdoor, and it opened inward, revealing a steel ladder leading to a flight of stairs. Before she entered, the fox grabbed the carpet and slid it over the opening, concealing the entrance once again.

There was only one word Duke could think of.

 _Vault._

After a short moment, the carpet was lifted as the fox climbed out again. She shut the trap door, and dragged the carpet over it, hiding it once again. The door creaked slightly as she left the room. The plastic bag she had was gone. Duke smirked as he left the wardrobe. He went under the carpet and unbolted the trapdoor without lifting the carpet. The trapdoor opened, and he climbed down the short ladder.

"Sweet cash, here I come," he whispered to himself excitedly as he rushed down the spiral stairs. The area got brighter and brighter as he went deeper. And soon, he found himself in another room altogether.

 _This is not a vault..._

The fur on his neck stood on edge as he felt a slight breath. He turned around, coming face to face with a cloth. Panic filled his mind as Duke spun out of the way. His assailant dived for another attempt, missing as Duke ducked out of the way. His claw scraped against the attacker, and he made a break for it, rushing up the stairs, only to be tripped. Duke jammed his paws forward, breaking his fall before he went face-first into the steps. He started running again, but someone grabbed his tail and viciously pulled, flinging him backwards. The assaulter jammed the cloth against his face violently.  
His struggles died down slowly as he blacked out, vulnerable to whatever came next.


	12. Breadcrumbs

**A/C Sorry this one took much longer than I thought. Got pretty busy.**

 **(Sorry if it seemed rushed as well...)**

* * *

"I miss one remedial and you get in a fight?" Brandon asked, nearly amused.

"You wanted to watch a fight? Sure, you can even be in it," Isaac replied.

"Nah. But come on, Ryan isn't worth a black eye."

"If hitting him shuts him up, I'm all for it."

"What changed though?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you never cared about him until recently. You've ignored him for over a year," Brandon stated.

"I started caring when he stole my journal and read it with half the class."

"Was there anything that sensitive inside?"

"It's just personal. It's a journal," Isaac answered. Brandon stared, not believing him one bit. Isaac wouldn't get that upset over a privacy invasion unless it uncovered something that was... well... _very_ private.

"It's about Judy isn't it..."

"No..." Isaac started. "...maybe."

"Don't worry about it," Brandon said. "She's much better than whoever raised Ryan."

The two continued walking, making their way back to class.

"Hey did you study for the history exam today?" Brandon asked after a short pause in their conversation.

"Did you?"

"Yes."

"Good luck to you," Isaac smirked, knowing all too well how much the otter disliked the subject.

"Real inspiring."

* * *

 _She has real gut showing up here._

 _Caught her following me with the oldest trick in the book - just using my phone as a mirror to look behind me. And she didn't even see it. Even had the moxie to continue following me across half the street._

 _And now she appears at my doorstep. A cop. I wonder where her clumsy partner is. Must be too ashamed to even show his face. What a screw-up._

 _This will be interesting._

* * *

"May I help you?" the butler asked at the door.

"Yes, is Mrs Vulpes in? I'd like to ask a few questions," Judy answered. The butler stared for a moment, before opening the door fully.

"Right this way."

It was the most spacious room Judy had ever seen in a house. Someone could've easily fit a jet in it. And yet it was simply spacious. The ornaments that Judy had expected were not present, and the fancy chandelier that she had imagined did not exist. It was just... plain. There were only a set of sofas, a coffee table and a flat screen television. Apart from the television, Judy was sure that with her current pay, she was able to afford everything in the room.

"What do you need, officer?" A voice asked. Judy's ears picked up the voice before she turned to face the source. It was Jasmine. The butler glanced at her and Judy before leaving the two alone, disappearing into a corridor.

"Have a seat," the vixen offered. "Would you like a drink?"

Judy waited for Jasmine to sit down before she followed, settling on another sofa.

"No, thank you," Judy declined politely. Jasmine struck her as a friendly person. A warm, gentle smile was ever present on her, and she didn't show any signs of nervousness. Based on her training, Judy literally couldn't see anything that could even show nervousness. Her fur was not stiff, her eyes were not darting about or avoiding eye contact... The canine was physically upright, and completely relaxed, waiting for the rabbit to continue. If it wasn't for the suspicion Judy had, she would've let her guard down instantly.

"Anyways, I have a few questions regarding some cargo you've purchased about five days ago," Judy started, whipping out a notepad and her pen.

"The blueberry juice? What about it?" The fox asked casually. _Nothing suspicious ye_ t. Judy hesitated as she thought of how to phrase what she wanted to say.

"Well, it was confiscated. Authorities found illegal goods inside the container," Judy informed.

"My client won't be too pleased about this," Jasmine, looking a little annoyed.

"Oh, who is your client?"

"Blue Bottle. It's a company from the south. Manufactures bottled drinks."

Judy couldn't help but feel dismayed at her answer. If the suspect was all the way in the south, out of Zootopia, she wouldn't be working on the case. Another department would be, and yet Judy couldn't place her confidence in it. The south was a well-to-do region. Zootopia was the largest city, but the southern cities were easily close behind regarding size. If the company was large enough, no police force would be able to thoroughly check for anything related to the case. The very thought of a night howler operation existing just because of such a ridiculous situation infuriated her. But the current period was not the best time to express it.

"Do you know who Keith Wilde is?" Judy continued.

"Keith Wilde?" Jasmine asked, eyes glancing upward, trying to recall for a brief moment. "Isn't that the guy I bought the blueberry juice from?"

"Yes. Do you have any relation to him?"

"Not much. Just met him online, and then a few more times to check the shipment," Jasmine paused for a moment as she thought of asking something. Judy noticed and stopped writing for a moment, anticipating some kind of clue. "What illegal goods did you find anyway? I didn't see anything when I checked the cargo."

"Sorry, that's classified information," Judy declined to answer. The fox gave an understanding nod and waited for any other questions Judy had.

"So, you say you've checked the shipment?"

"Yes."

"Personally?"

"Yes."

"Do you know where your shipment was as of sixteenth March?"

"Probably still at the cargo station. It isn't even officially mine yet."

"I see. Is there anything else that you might know regarding the case?" Judy asked, standing up, preparing to the end session.

"Probably not, I don't even know what your case is about," Jasmine chuckled.

"Alright, thank you for your cooperation."

* * *

"How'd it go?"

"She claims that she had checked the cargo before, and didn't find anything suspicious. Let's take a look at the cargo station's surveillance cameras, we might be able to catch the culprit," Judy went straight to the point. Nick chuckled at her response. _Typical Judy._

"That's a long shot, Judy. The cargo station is huge. You don't know if a camera managed to catch it," Nick replied.

"You got a better idea?"

"Just saying. It might not work."

"It's worth a shot," Judy shrugged. "Come on, drive already. Or else I'm taking the wheel."

"Oh no, you're not," Nick smirked as he manoeuvred the cruiser out of its parking spot. "We wouldn't want to crash into a lamp post now, would we?"

"That was ages ago, and I didn't crash the car," Judy protested. "It was... just a scratch."

"How much did that side mirror cost anyway?"

" _Just a scratch!_ "

* * *

 _"Hey, come on! I didn't take anything! I was on my way out! I swear!"_

 _"Who are you? Why are you here? And why does that tiny little dose of chloroform put you out for over eight hours?"_

 _"I don't know, I was just here to...uh... admire the view?"_

 _"You were trying to burgle my house weren't you?"_

 _"I'm sorry, just don't hurt me!"_

 _"I'm not planning to hurt you."_

 _"Then... can I go?"_

 _"Not yet. I have a few things to test..."_

 _"Wha... is that a gun!? Whoa WAI..."_

* * *

The bull took his own sweet time to fetch the footage, and his speed was easily comparable to the sloths at the DMV. Every passing second started to irritate Judy more and more.

"This one should have that box," the security guard yawned. And sure enough, Keith's (or Jasmine's) container was visible on the black and white screen. Nick and Judy leant in closer to look. The screen was rather tiny, about the size of Judy's phone.

"Sorry bout the size, a rat works here," the bull explained. The footage wasn't exactly interesting. It was, after all, just a video of stationary cargo. The replay was fast-forwarded, and yet it still looked like a black and white photo.

And then all of a sudden, the footage just became a mess of static.

"What?" Judy murmured subconsciously as she squinted at it, trying in vain to see something behind the static.

"Oh, that must be the camera that got busted," the bull muttered.

"What happened to it?" Nick inquired.

"Looked like someone threw a rock at it. The camera itself was knocked off."

"Is there a camera that can see that camera?" Judy asked, getting slightly panicked. The last thing they needed was a dead end.

"Yes, there's this one..." the security guard paused as he pressed a few keys on the keyboard before him. A new footage with a different angle blinked on. The container was not visible from that angle, but another camera was clearly portrayed. And soon, that was not the only thing that could be seen.

"Look, what's that black thing?" Nick pointed at a dark silhouette that appeared from behind one of the containers. It was someone with a dark trench coat and hat. He peered up at the nearest camera, and at a brief second, he revealed himself from his dark clothing as he reeled back to throw something. A camera flopped, wobbled for a few moments before its wire snapped, and fell off its support, rendered completely useless. The figure looked around and left in the direction of the container.

"We need this footage in our investigation," Judy stated.

* * *

 _"What was that for?"_

 _"Oh come on, you're not even injured, stop whining..."_

 _"What is this stuff? Why is it purple!?"_

 _"Calm dow..."_

 _"IS THIS WHAT I THINK IT IS?"_

 _"Wait... Just..."_

 _"ARE YOU NUTS?"_

 _"Will you just..."_

 _"..."_

 _"..."_

 _"Don't growl at me that way. It'll be over soon..."_

* * *

"This can't be enhanced any further? I can hardly see anything," Judy huffed as she squinted at her desktop.

"I can see it. Just forward to that part where he flashes his face," Nick instructed. Judy looked at him dubiously and then did as he said. She paused the video just as the unknown person reeled back, preparing to throw the stone.

"There. His face. Do you see it?"

"It looks like a leopard," Judy observed.

"Quit squinting, zoom the video," the fox said. "You're going to need a pair of glasses at this rate."

"All we have is a face?" she ignored, still squinting at the screen. Nick sighed, and took over the mouse. Within a few moments, he englarged the frame, and the leopard's face was clearly visible.

"I guess I'll run it with the database," Judy shrugged.

"It's lunch break now. Don't forget Isaac," Nick reminded.

* * *

 _"Wha... What happened..."_

 _"You're going free now."_

 _"What did you do to me? What's this purple stuff?"_

 _"Night howler serum."_

 _"What?"_

 _"Hold still."_

 _"HEY DON'T SHOOT ME WITH THAT AGAIN!"_

 _"Oh just stay quiet for once. If this works nothing will happen to you."  
_

 _"AND IF IT DOESN... OW! HEY! ARE YOU CRAZY?"_

 _"You are completely fine. Will you just calm down? You're savage enough without the serum."_

 _"WHAT DO YOU MEAN CALM DOWN YOU SHOT ME WITH IT."_

 _"Oh my, you seem very savage. Just calm down, do you want to leave or not?"_

 _"Fine! Fine."_

 _"Take this and clean off the serum. I'll release you once you're done."_

* * *

"How was school?" Judy asked.

"There was a history test today."

"History test?" Judy frowned, facing away from Isaac. It was a simple feat. After all, she was in the front seat. _You said there were no upcoming tests._

"How's the eye?" Nick mentioned casually. Judy turned back again to look at Isaac's injury. It was still at a nasty shade, but at least it wasn't swollen like before.

"Does it hurt?" the rabbit asked out of concern.

"Nah, just a little sore."

"Sore?"

"It's fine," Isaac insisted.

"How about Ryan? Is he still bothering you?" Nick inquired.

"He completely ignored me the whole day," he replied.

"And... that's good or bad?" Judy asked.

"It's obviously good. How can it be bad?" Isaac asked rhetorically. "Besides, any interesting case you guys have?" Judy peered at Nick. She had no idea how to phrase their current case in a simple (and without the word "Night Howler") way.

"Nothing special, just investigating the source of illegal cargo," Nick explained.

"What kind of illegal cargo? Night howler serum?" Isaac asked jokingly. Judy faced forward stiffly, trying to hide her expression.

"Heh. Better if you don't know the details kid."


	13. Trail of gold

_"No match found?!_ "

Nick flinched at Judy's sudden outburst, ears instantly forcing themselves down against his head.

"We were this _close_ to finding an actual lead!"

"Calm down, maybe the picture is orientated wrong," Nick comforted, staring at the computer screen.

"No, it's not, I've gotten results with even worse pictures," the technician grumbled as he stared blankly at the screen. "Sorry, but I guess there isn't a match for your suspect."

"How can there be no match? Anybody in Zootopia has to be in the database somehow," Judy argued.

"It happens. It just means your suspect was never added to the database. There were multiple cases like that, it's nothing new," the technician explained in a less than joyful manner before moving off, rudely grumbling about newbies.

"What an optimist," Nick commented sarcastically.

"What are we going to do? That was our only lead!" Judy hissed, rising out of her chair.

"What're you finding?" Judy's ears pricked up at the question, and the partners turned toward the noise.

"Isaac? How did you... Get back down, you're not supposed to be up here..." the rabbit shooed.

"I come up here all the time," Isaac replied, looking past Judy at the computer screen. "Is that someone from a mafia?"

"There is no mafia in Zootopia... Why did Ben even let you up here?"

"He doesn't know I'm here."

"Go back down," Judy sighed, escorting the teen out of sight. Nick stared at the photo of the suspect once again. It was very obviously a leopard, though he did look much shorter and stouter than your average spotted cat. The suspect was wearing a black bowler hat, with a trench coat slightly too long for him.

"Any ideas?" Judy asked, appearing behind Nick.

"Shady guy, not in the database," Nick started. "This guy reeks of crime. Let's ask our old friend if he knows him."

"Our old friend huh?"

"Yep," he smiled. "You're referring to Mr Big too, right?"

* * *

"You do remember how to get there, right?" Judy asked jokingly.

"No way I can forget," Nick chuckled. The way to the carpark was rather isolated. Unless there was an emergency, the corridors and paths to the area were mostly empty, because there were multiple ways to get there. And the carpark itself wasn't very occupied either. Nobody in the right mind would stick around the stuffy and gloomy place.

They reached the carpark itself soon enough. It was a little too large for its own good, and multiple pillars in symmetric pattern supported the ceiling. After all, it was an underground carpark. Nick was about to open the cruiser's door, when he froze, staring at a shadow beside a pillar.

"What? What is it?" Judy shot, unnerved by Nick's sudden silence.

 _"You're not going to find him through Big."_

The rabbit turned around, and her heart froze as her eyes met a pair of glowing eyes. One eye was a bright yellowish orange, while the other was a light blue. Nick drew his tranquillizer and pointed it at the figure, while Judy did the same, back against the car.

"Hands in the air!"

The silhouette shook a little as the figure chuckled. His hands lazily rose, and he stepped out of the shadow of the pillar.

"Calm down officers, no need for any violence," the figure smirked. It wasn't a malicious smirk. It was more cheerful like he was...humoured. His voice reflected the same thing, slightly deep, and , up to an extent, light-hearted. Yet, nobody felt a sense of security.

"Who are you? This is a restricted area," Judy reminded, her finger ready on the dart gun's trigger.

"Put down your tranquillizers, I only want to settle for a brief chat," the figure replied calmly, his face still relaxed with the smirk. Now that he was out of the dark, Judy could more or less see what he was. It was a black jaguar, complete with a black jacket and black shorts. He was short for a jaguar, only a head taller than Nick. And yet, he radiated a forbidding aura, like as if he was the greatest danger in the world. His eyes were curiously not the same colour, with his left being orange, and his right being blue.

"You're not in the position to negotiate," Nick growled.

"This was never a negotiation," the jaguar answered lazily. Judy's finger jerked ever so slightly, almost launching the dart just as he finished. "Just a simple chat. I know who your suspect is. You wouldn't want to wait for me to wake up won't you?"

"Get to the point," Judy rushed, lowering her weapon. Nick nearly screamed out as she did so. The fellow looked nothing close to trustworthy, and yet Judy had already let her guard simmer down.

"You can't find him in your databases because he doesn't have a record anywhere. Not even a birth certificate. Virtually, he doesn't exist," the jaguar explained, his raised hands returning to the pockets in his jacket.

"That's not very helpful," Nick growled, still pointing his tranquillizer at him.

"You're chasing the wrong guy. He's just a pawn of something bigger. Ever heard of the Western Bunny Burrows?"

Judy's eyebrows raised when she heard the familiar location. Only one conversation came to mind.

 _I think there was even a crime syndicate there that time_...

"That's where the operation _roots_ from?" Nick asked though he didn't sound surprised at all.

"Lucky for you, this root can be killed by pulling its leaves," the jaguar stated.

"This still isn't helping much," the fox sighed, finally pointing his weapon away, suspecting that the cat was holding his tongue until he did so.

"If you really can't get it at all, fine, I'll put it very...simply...for...you," the jaguar purposely slowed down to a ridiculous speed. Judy frowned, slightly annoyed. The last thing she needed (or wanted), was a repeat of the DMV incident.

"There is a night howler trade going on from Zootopia to the Western Bunny Burrows. But it doesn't have a strong foothold here. Yet. So you can crash the operation by hitting its weak spots."

"And the weak spots would be?" Judy pressed.

"You've actually talked to someone that can help," the jaguar paused dramatically before revealing what he meant. "Jasmine Vulpes."

Judy inhaled sharply as she heard the name, but stalled for a moment.

"Why should we trust you?" she shot. The jaguar chuckled, shaking his head slightly.

"Paranoia... Something so essential, yet so obstructive," he looked up again, his pupils narrowing to a slit. Teeth glinted in the presence of some light, appearing extra malicious. His look was unsettling, and it sent a chilling shiver down everybody in his line of sight. The officers both flinched slightly, with Nick raising his tranquillizer once again.

"Let's just say, I have my own motives to shut down that operation." And with that last sentence, the jaguar's eyes returned to the way they were, and his teeth concealed themselves once again. The feline turned to leave, before stopping.

"Oh, Nick. Just thought I'd tell you," he smiled. "Innocent people get caught in the crossfire. Don't let your emotions blind your judgement."

Nick frowned as the jaguar continued walking.

"Till next time, officers," the jaguar tipped an imaginary hat, and continued on his way, soon vanishing out of the parking lot through an alleyway.

"That... Leads to the first floor," Judy pointed out softly. Her legs started working as she rushed after the stranger.

"What are you doing? The last thing we need is to annoy him!" Nick hissed, rushing after the rabbit.

"There has to be more! He can't just dump this on us and leave! Come on, hurry!"

The alley, which was nothing new to Judy, started to look ominous. The old flickering light that nobody bothered to fix started to reek a creepy feel. It felt longer and longer as the two ran through the alley, but an emotion could only do so much. Judy slammed into the door, pushing it violently open in the process. An intense light seemed to blast through the door, momentarily blinding the pair. But when their vision cleared, all they saw, was Benjamin and Isaac staring at them from behind the counter.

"Are you two oka..." The cheetah started, only to be instantly cut short by Judy.

"Did you see a jaguar leave through here? A black jaguar?"

"What...? Nobody left through here."

* * *

 _"You. You're not supposed to interfere. Get out."_

 _"Can't I visit every once in a while?"_

 _"No. You accepted the deal. Last warning. Get out."_

 _"Alright."_

 _"What's with the wink?"_

 _"Can't I show some friendliness?"_

 _"Get out."_

* * *

"I'm sorry, but the mistress isn't in right now," the butler denied entry.

"She isn't in? Did you know where she went?" Nick asked.

"I am not informed of her private matters. Anything else you need, officers?"

"Any chance we could search the house?" Judy requested.

"I'm sorry, but I do not have the permission to grant that."

"Alright, thank you for your time," Nick ended, turning his back. Judy stared at him for a moment, glanced back at the butler, before going after him. The butler closed the door, vanishing from sight.

"This way," Nick hissed, pulling Judy behind some shrubbery. His partner stifled a yelp and glared at him as he ducked beside her.

"What is it?" She whispered back irritably. Nick gestured to a small hole in the shrub, and Judy took a peek out.

"Is that..."

It was a rabbit. And not just any rabbit.

"That's the guy she dumped that cash on in the alley," the fox explained. "What's he doing walking up to her doorstep?" Judy stayed silent, unsure of what the reason could be.

"May I help you?" the butler asked the rabbit. He was easily audible to Judy, who had an ear extended to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Emma Scarlet told me to find her here," he said. Judy shuddered at the name and turned to stare at Nick, who was equally confused.

"Very well. Right this way." The door shut as the two disappeared into the mansion, leaving the officers outside.

"Emma Scarlet...?" Judy murmured. "Isn't that... Issac's mother?"

"Remember your little policy?" Nick asked, smirking.

"What policy?"

"You don't need a search warrant if...?"

"...we have a probable cause," Judy finished, ears perking up in realisation.

"But let's try to stay unseen. The last thing we need is Jasmine taking this to court."

* * *

"This will be over in a moment, don't worry. You won't be hurt."

The rabbit stared cautiously for a few more moments. The cell was spotless. Not a single trace of dirt, or more importantly, blood. Slowly, he stepped inside. He closed the door behind him. The cell had the signature bars any cell would have, but the door was only sealed with a basic latch that even he could've opened from the inside without any effort.

"Alright, stand back."

A few taps echoed through the lab as the rabbit took stepped backwards.

"Sorry."

"What? Wait!"

"ZPD! Put your weapon down!" Judy yelled, pointing her tranquillizer at her target.

"This... this isn't what it looks like!" The suspect carefully placed her weapon on a nearby table, and with a slight push, she slid it away from her.

"Jasmine Vulpes, you're under arrest," Nick started. "You have the right to remain sile..."

"You don't understand!" the arctic fox protested, backing away from the officers.

"Jasmine, we can do this the hard way or the easy way," Judy stated plainly. Jasmine shuddered but sagged as she made her choice. The rabbit in the cell unhatched his cell door, and began running before Nick stopped him.

"Sorry sir, but we might need you too."

* * *

"She...she offered to pay me more," the rabbit started. Nick watched the suspect through the one-way mirror. Judy was inside, asking the questions. The fox was in the room as well, until he started to notice that the victim was not very comfortable around another fox.

"I'm going to talk to Vulpes. I have a feeling she won't be here for long," Nick said, leaving the room. Chief Bogo nodded at Fangmire, the officer beside him. The tiger nodded in reply, leaving the room as well. It was standard safety procedure to require at least two officers in the same room when interrogating a suspect. Chief Bogo turned back to look at Judy's progress.

"Pay you for what?" Judy asked gently, careful not to frighten him anymore. He was young. Easily only twenty-five or so.

"She said she needed a test subject, and told me to go look for her in the mansion." When he finished, Judy recalled what he had mentioned to the butler.

"Do you know who is Emma Scarlet?"

"Emma Scarlet? Isn't that the white fox that tried to kill me?"

* * *

"Care to explain why you have a lab under your mansion with multiple samples of Nighthowler Serum?" Nick probed, staring blankly at Jasmine. The arctic fox twitched, but held her tongue, eyes pointed away from him.

"Maybe I should rephrase it," Nick sighed. "Why are you inviting strangers to your house, and then turning them savage?" This time, he got a frown. Jasmine's eyes focussed themselves at Nick, and her mouth trembled, slightly open. And yet, she stayed silent.

"They say those that stay silent have something to hide," Nick added. He briefly glanced at the questions in the piece of paper in his hand, with Judy's scribbled questions. Fangmire watched passively from a corner, staying wary of any sudden action. Jasmine's eyes briefly wandered to him, and shot away almost immediately, and she quivered slightly again, hunching even more.

"Were you the one that smuggled the Nighthowler serum?"

No response.

"Have you turned any other animals savage?"

Still no response. Nick's internal clock was ticking. She was a wealthy person, and Nick felt that something was going to grab her out of the situation anytime soon. And yet time continued passing, bringing that moment closer every second. Nick read past the questions again, before he noticed an underlined one at the bottom of the paper.

"Do you know Emma Scarlet?"

Jasmine's ears perked up. Her head followed soon enough.

"Emma...Emma was a friend I knew from college," she stammered. Nick's eyebrow raised at her answer.

"The rabbit you lured. He said you told him to find Emma Scarlet at your mansion. Why did you tell him that?"

Jasmine returned to her original state and refused to reply once more.

"Was it to hide your name from him?"

A twitch.

"Was it so you can get away with whatever experiment you were doing?"

She clenched her teeth.

"Well, that's rather pointless. The last time I checked savage animals _don't_ remember."

"I was _not_ blindly turning him savage!" she yelled, her eyes burning with anger. Fangmire, straightened himself, glaring back. Jasmine ignored the tiger's gesture and went on.

"You don't know _anything._ You don't _what_ I'm trying to do," she growled.

" _What_ exactly are you doing?" Nick pressed, keeping his voice as calm as possible.

"I was..."

"That will be enough," a voice interrupted. Jasmine looked up, and relief seemed to flood into her as she relaxed. Nick turned, hiding his annoyance behind a curious look. It was a badger dressed in a neat suit and tie. And every little detail of him screamed one word.

 _Lawyer._


	14. Fear and Frustration

Judy could only gape at her suspect walking right out of the station without a second worry, along with her lawyer. But shock didn't stun her for too long.

"How did she get away? With all that evidence, we could've detained her longer!"

"No. We can't," Bogo stated simply. "Her lawyer got her out through a loophole."

"She's just gonna go free?" the rabbit groaned.

"Judy, that's the problem with arresting rich people," the chief snorted. "They can afford more justice. Go on back to work. This lead is dead."

Judy found herself rooted, frowning at the exit as Bogo walked back to his office.

"Why am I not surprised."

"She can't do that, with that evidence, we could've put her in jail!" Judy argued, facing Nick, though the venom in her statement was not directed at him.

"I was expecting it to happen anyway," Nick shrugged. "There are reasons why the worst criminals are the richest."

"She was experimenting on animals, how did she get out of this with a lawyer?"

"Trust me, how he did it is just a bigger headache," the fox stared blankly at the door, looking visibly annoyed. "I almost had her too. She already cracked."

"What did she reveal?"

"Nothing of much use. She just said that she wasn't 'blindly' turning animals savage."

"That's all she revealed?" Judy's voice became near inaudible, and her face scrunched up in an unreadable expression.

"Come on, we might be able to get more evidence from your bunny friend," Nick turned and began walking.

"Hey guys, was that Jasmine?" The familiar voice sent the fur on Judy's neck to stiffen, and she stared at the source.

"How did you know, Isaac?" Nick asked for her, without any sense of alarm in his tone.

"She dragged Mom back home a few times," Isaac replied. Benjamin's small ears rose with interest. Nothing he liked more than some backstory. "She seems nice enough, why was she arrested?"

"Ugly story. Maybe when you're older," Nick started off before another question or protest was hurled in his direction.

"You... actually know her?" Judy asked, walking behind the counter.

"Not exactly. We hardly talk," the fox answered. "When I see her, she's scolding Mom for getting drunk."

"Oh," Judy tensed up as she realised she had walked into a sensitive subject. At least, a sensitive subject in _her_ opinion. "Okay...I'll be back upstairs."

The moment she was gone, Isaac turned to Benjamin.

"Do you know anything about that case?" he tried. Nothing intrigued him more now that someone he recognised was so heavily involved. The cheetah stared, eyes round as he thought of the best way to answer the fox.

"It was... an illegal cargo...case...?" Benjamin paraphrased, his tone making the answer sound more like a question.

* * *

Jasmine sighed as she shut her mansion door behind her. Her work was interrupted, at the worst possible time. And now, without another test subject, she could only assume that it worked fully.

"Six hundred thousand," she murmured. "That's how many lives you ruin if this fails..."

"You've already ruined another one," a voice stated. Jasmine gasped, and turned sharply, stumbling back as she did so. She stabilised herself, staring apprehensively at her guest. "You... you brought those cops here!"

"I only said that you can help. What they interpreted was their problem," her guest stared back. Jasmine didn't reply, detecting a change from his usual cheery tone. His smirk started to look like an illusion, there to hide something else. There was a hint of something. Something that she was blasted with all day.

 _Blame._

"You knew," he stated simply, his smirk dissolving into a simple sullen look. Jasmine looked down, unable to face him.

"I...I couldn't bring myself to tell you," her voice trembled, not only with guilt but with a slight tinge of something darker.

 _Fear._

"All this time, they were keeping an empty deal with me," he continued. This time, Jasmine managed to drag herself to look at him. His eyes could've said everything he was feeling. His blue one seemed to give off a sense of loss and sadness. His orange eye simply radiated rage.

"I'm... sorry," she shivered, unable to say anything else.

"Don't need to apologise. I just... would've preferred it if you told me," his eyes closed for a moment, his head tilting down an angle. "They held me on a leash, with a blank promise." Jasmine didn't respond. A sense of pity started to flood into her, but she knew better than to comfort him. It was way too late for that.

"What are you going to do now?" she asked. He opened his eyes and glanced at her. They flared with an unspeakable rage, enough to put anybody off their comfort zone. Any pity in her morphed into fear, and she took a short step back.

"I'm going to shatter their entire operation," he stated, his voice flat. "Starting with their night howler production."

"You...you wouldn't make it on your own! It's an entire mafia!"

"I'm not alone. Plus, their little tricks and treats won't work on me."

"What do you mean?"

"You need a new test subject don't you?" his smirk returned, and the last traces of his dark mood vanished. "I'm right at your doorstep."

* * *

"This is all we have so far," Judy sighed. "We don't even have a suspect now." The evidence board was not very packed. Only a few images and notes stuck here and there. After all, there was hardly any leads or evidence.

"All we have is the video of a leopard that isn't in the database," Judy finished.

"And that jaguar that gave us the lead," Nick added.

"We know nothing about him." A shrill ringing interrupted their conversation as the corded phone rang. It was a simple device, meant to communicate within the building itself.

"Yes, Ben?" Nick answered, pressing the phone against his ear. Nick's eyes widened at whatever he heard, and he thanked the cheetah before hanging up.

"What is it?"

Nick smiled. "We have a lead. Come on, let's get to Ben."

* * *

"So someone's car camera caught this, and they didn't find out until today because they only checked today," Benjamin speedily explained, playing the video on his desktop while slurping an ice-blended drink. It was a video of the mansion. More specifically, the back of the mansion. With someone trying to get in through an open window.

"Is that... Duke?" Judy muttered.

"It does seem that way," Nick commented. "Too bad though, he goes to whatever dark corners to rest at night, we won't be finding him now."

"It's _night_?" Judy nearly shrieked. "Isaac hasn't eaten yet, we should hurry." With that, she rushed away from the counter, speeding up the stairs to finalise her work for the day. Nick shook his head slowly, following with a smirk leaving Isaac to take the hint and begin packing.

* * *

"How long do their cases last?"

"How long?" Benjamin repeated as he processed the answer. "Well, they took two days for their fastest case... Or actually more than a month if you count it strictly. So far they've spent about three days on this one, including today. One more day, and I guess that technically makes it the longest they've taken."

"Are they close to finishing it?" Isaac asked.

"Well you saw them, they just ran out of leads, so unless their latest one helps them, no they aren't close to finishing it," the cheetah replied.

"They sure are taking long today," Isaac commented, staring at the entrance. It was already bearing the end of the evening, and the sky was slowly getting darker.

"I heard school holidays are coming," Benjamin interrupted, snapping Isaac out of his train of thought. "Any plans?"

"Plans?"

"Are you going anywhere new?"

"Bunny Burrows."

"You're going to the Bunny Burrows?" Clawhauser gasped dramatically. "Is Nick coming along?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Oh, why not?"

"Judy's parents don't know about Nick, and she doesn't want to see how they'd react," Isaac explained.

"You're joking, right?"

"No, why?"

Benjamin chuckled, taking another sip from his drink.

"Simple," he said after swallowing. "Judy's parents have to know about Nick."

"What?"

"They're all over the news! There was a period where every paper had them on the front cover for solving that savage case," Benjamin reminded. "Her parents can't _not_ know..."

"Maybe they don't read newspapers."

"Judy has hundreds of relatives... somebody's bound to know."

"Wow, hundreds? Literally?"

"Judy said it herself. Why not ask her?"

"Not a chance. I'll just see for myself when I'm there."

"What're you guys talking about?" Benjamin and Isaac nearly jumped out of their skin when they heard the voice.

"Nothing," the cheetah blurted out way too quickly, earning himself a confused blink and a period of awkward silence

"A..Anyway, it's time for dinner, Isaac," Judy finished. "Come on."

* * *

"We ended a lot later than usual," Nick yawned before stepping on the accelerator. It was not the best day for a delay at their usual diner. The car shifted out of its parking lot and began its usual journey back to Judy's apartment.

"Carrots?" Nick repeated, briefly glancing beside him. She was sleeping. He sighed, eyes wandering up to the rear mirror. Isaac was sleeping as well.

"I hate being the driver," he grumbled, manoeuvring around a turn. They were getting close to Judy's apartment. The road started to become empty as they moved toward the housing areas. It was a dark night, and a large part of the road didn't have many streetlights. All Nick could rely on in some areas was the car's headlights.

And so the eyes trained on the car remained hidden to their unsuspecting targets.

* * *

"Carrots." Judy felt someone poke her cheek.

"Are we there?" She yawned, rubbing an eye.

"Yes. Go wake sleeping beauty in the back," Nick gestured at Isaac, who was still in a light sleep. A pop sounded as Judy opened the car door, and a thud sounded as she shut it. The same sound repeated itself as Judy opened the door closest to Isaac.

"Isaac," she nudged gently. "Time to go." The young fox rose, with his eyes still closed. He held onto a strap on his bag, and got out of the car, dragging his bag behind him.

"Bye Nick," Judy smiled, one hand on Isaac's shoulder.

"Night, Carrots," Nick waved. He watched the two disappear into the building before driving off, heading home on his own.

* * *

"Hey is it me, or does something feel wrong?" Isaac noticed, sniffing the air. Something was off about it. It felt less... stuffy.

"Maybe I left a window open," Judy assumed, ignoring the new smell. Not like stuffiness was anything to miss. Isaac glanced around one more time before making his way to his room. The rabbit did the same, eager to clean up after such a long day of work. Her window was wide open, and gusts of wind freely gushed in. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't have minded. But she always closed all the windows in the house before leaving. The last thing anybody needed was for rain to enter. The window disturbed her slightly, but not because she didn't close it.

She clearly remembered shutting it before leaving.

The wind started howling, making the situation feel all the more unsettling. Judy frowned, staring in suspicion at her bed. It was close to the window, and the blanket had long been blown off by the strong wind. The sliding window allowed her to change the size of the opening, and the wind only encouraged her to shrink that opening. She sighed, sliding the window. The howling got a little softer, and the wind itself died down significantly.

 _Now to pick up the blanket..._

She grabbed the sheet and flicked it once to straighten it. A piece of paper shot out from underneath, landing on the floor, attracting Judy's attention. A sense of dread loomed as she began to think that someone had broken in. The blanket fell to the floor, and she found herself picking up the paper. It was slightly larger than her paw, and had patches of slight discoloration, like as if it was an ancient piece of paper. Blank. She huffed, and turned it around.

Her blood froze at its contents, and her tiredness was ripped away. Her paw tightened its grip on the paper as she re-read the note over and over.

 _Which one do you care for more? Isaac, or the case?_


	15. Threats in the dark

Everything was a blur. Judy ran around aimlessly, trying to concentrate on something to do.

 _Isaac_.

Immediately, she rushed over to his room, heart sinking the moment she saw his closed door. She tried the knob. Locked.

"Isaac?" She called out, controlling her voice. The last thing she needed was to scare him with her discovery.

"Yeah?" He replied from behind the door. His voice soothed pumping heart, and she calmed down enough to think straight.

"M...Make sure your windows are locked," she finally said, still panting lightly. Isaac acknowledged with a light grunt from behind the door. She heard a slight thud as he slid his window shut, and a click as he locked it. Judy stumbled toward the living room sofa, flopping onto it the moment it came within range. She held her forehead, bending forward, trying to think of what to do. She doubted that she would've really cared if the threat was directed at her.

But it wasn't.

The sound of a door opening pricked Judy like a needle, and she shot up, only to hastily sit down as Isaac stepped out of his room, with a towel slung over his shoulder, and a set of clothes in his arm. He made his way straight to the shower, not noticing Judy's unsettled mood. The sight of a fox made her think of one person.

Before she knew it, her phone was already in her hand, ringing Nick's number.

"Carrots?" his voice already calmed her down by quite a bit, and she found that she was able to think straight again.

"Nick..." Judy started but didn't know how to continue.

"Judy? Is something wrong?"

 _Clever fox._

"Nick, I..." the phone beeped. "Nick?"

But nobody replied.

* * *

"Judy?" Nick asked, eyes widening slightly. He stared in dismay at his phone, before calling again.

No answer.

Nick swore under his breath, and called again, heart pounding hard. The paw holding onto the phone was trembling, already fearing the outcome of the call.

No answer.

That was it. He made a break for it, grabbing his wallet and his car keys, rushing straight out of the safety of his home. The streets had never seemed darker as he raced toward his car. A vibration in his paw stopped him in his tracks. The fox stared in uncertainty at his phone, dumbfounded for a few seconds before hastily answering the call.

* * *

"Judy!" Nick pretty much gasped through the phone, nearly shocking its recipient with its sudden nature.

"Nick," Judy started all over again.

"Get to the point, and stop thinking of ways to sugarcoat it."

"Alright," the rabbit sighed. "I just came back... and... I found a note on the floor... "

"And...?" Nick prompted.

"It... it was threatening Isaac..."

"What did it say?"

Judy hesitated, before replying. "'Which do you care for more? Isaac or the case?'"

"I'm coming over. Be careful."

* * *

Nick Wilde was not someone who normally had much stress or worry. All the work he did hardly created much stress. They were too mediocre in his opinion to ever give a significant amount of worry. And yet, one simple piece of paper had made his heart pound harder than he'd ever felt in a long time. To the fox, nothing was more frustrating than worry. You can't think straight, your heart's pounding would be loud enough to be a countdown to the end, and the general feeling of it...

The car sped a little past the speed limit. Nick's eyes briefly wandered to the meter, but he ended up ignoring it. Judy would've killed him for speeding. But the last thing he needed was for her to be killed because he didn't.

* * *

"Those cops, why did you give them information?"

"They can help."

"How so?"

"The more they pursue the case, the more our enemies want to get rid of them. They need to show themselves to try anything funny."

"We're endangering their lives... are you sure that was the right thing to do?"

"I've removed every single threat letter they've received. Under my watch, they won't even know they're on a hit list."

"You _removed_ the threat letters from a mafia?! They can be _killed_ just because they didn't take official action to protect themselves!"

"I'm just waiting for our dear friends to make a move. Those officers won't be harmed. Now if you would excuse me, I need to make another round on them."

"This is reckless. It's an unnecessary risk."

"The greater the risk, the better the yield. You wouldn't want something to happen to them right now, while you're arguing over something that's already done, would you? You do your job, and I'll do mine."

"My job is to try and save lives. What's yours?"

"Vengeance. Whatever the cost."

* * *

"The moment it hits morning, you need to tell Bogo," Nick stated plainly, sitting on the sofa, next to Judy.

"But... what about Isaac? He'll be in school and..."

"I can keep an eye on him. I'll just drop you off at HQ, then stick around the school..." Nick paused. While he was talking, he unintentionally took a good, long look at Judy. And it wasn't her prime form. Her normal optimism was non-existent, and it seemed to clear that something was bothering her. And worst off all, she looked tired. Her eyelids could simply collapse at any moment, and Nick was sure that she would slip off into delusion sooner or later.

"You need some rest, Carrots."

"I... can't..."

"Not a choice. You need your strength tomorrow," the fox pushed.

"You... do too..."

"I'm naturally nocturnal. You're not. Go to sleep. Don't worry, I'll be here."

"A-Alright... I'll just... check on Isaac one more time."

Nick watched as Judy made her way to Isaac's room. She opened the door as silently as she could, and went in, closing the door behind her with equal care. The silence felt more and more unsettling. He grunted, and lifted himself off the sofa, shaking off the creeping worry. It didn't help too much. He needed something to do to keep his mind off. Like a security check. Starting with Judy's room.

Nick felt a piercing cold as he entered. The bedding, which was normally tidy no matter when he saw them, was strewn all over the floor. A pillow in this corner, and the blanket in another.

Blanket.

Bed.

Sleep.

Judy should've been out by now. Nick inhaled sharply, and turned, rushing back. His imagination started running wild, with each flashing scene making his strides larger. He grabbed the door knob, and despite it all, carefully opened the door. He gasped, stepping into the room. Isaac was still there, sleeping soundly, his head poking out from under his blankets. But Judy wasn't there. Nick looked around one more time, panic starting to fill him...

...and then he found her. Within a few breaths, the panic drained away. Judy was sitting against a corner, head buried in her knees and arms. Nick sighed, and crouched in front of her, thinking of what to do next. She was asleep, but it didn't look like a very deep sleep.

"Come on," he whispered as he slid an arm under her knees. "Get some rest. You can watch him in the morning."

Nick placed another paw behind her back and lifted her delicately. She muttered something in protest and started to shift around in his arms.

"Don't worry, I'm here for you," Nick continued, placing her on her bed. She grumbled something again and frowned lightly as he placed the blanket on her.

"I'm here for _both_ of you," the fox corrected, rolling his eyes.

 _Classic Judy._

As he expected, her frown lightened, and she gradually calmed down. He watched for a few more moments, just to ensure that she wasn't going to sneak up again, before leaving the room. His eyes adjusted within a brief time to the darkness of his surroundings as he turned off the lights. The uncomfortable silence returned. He walked around the apartment, thinking of a place to stand watch. Two different rooms. One threat. And in the letter, the threat was directed at Isaac. One person was definitely not enough for the job. Even while he stood guard in Isaac's room, he worried about Judy; When he stood guard in Judy's room, he worried about Isaac. Just to make matters even more frustrating, he started to feel tired. He hissed with suppressed volume as his eyelids drooped for the umpteenth time, shaking his head roughly in an attempt to chase away the fatigue. He'd been up for nearly three hours. It was two in the morning.

No point standing guard if he was just going to doze off. Nick dragged himself out of Isaac's room and made his way to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. He always came over during off days when he had nothing better to do. As a result, Nick knew every inch of the place. Especially the kitchen. It didn't take long for him to find the coffee packets and the spare mugs that Judy kept for guests. He opened the packet, preparing to dump its contents into a mug when a noise echoed through the hallway. Nick froze, his tiredness vanishing in an instant as he looked back.

 _Doorbell._

Nick abandoned the mug, leaving the opened packet inside it, moving cautiously toward the door.

 _Who in the world is ringing the doorbell at this time of the night?_

Every step amplified his dread. Foxes were always just sandwiched somewhere in the middle of the food chain. There were way too many species that could wipe the floor with him in a brawl. There was only so much combat training an officer academy could give. But, the ZPD did give him something else. A taser. The small device felt insignificant in his paws, like as if it could malfunction and fail at any moment. He looked through the peeking hole. His fear flared into apprehension as he recognised the visitor. He never forgot a face, not that anybody needed good memory to remember _that_ face. Or more specifically, those eyes. The orange eye and the blue eye.

"I know you're looking. And you know I don't mean any harm to you."

Nick kept silent, waiting for his next move.

"Come on, Nicholas. I know you're listening. And I know you want to know more about your case."

The fox still didn't reply.

"I know you want to protect your partner and her kid."

No reply. The visitor halted, before picking out a phone. He stared at it briefly, before returning it in his pocket.

"Fine. I can come back at a more... appropriate time. It's a beautiful night, Nicholas. Don't need to waste it staying up."

* * *

"I can't see the fox, Paul."

"He might be in his bed."

"Nope, not there."

"Wait for him. He has to be inside somewhere."

"Did you even get the place right, or were you sending death threats to the wrong house?"

"Maybe he fled."

"Did you even turn the signal jammer on?"

" _Yes._ It is _on._ "

 _"Hello, gentlemen. Am I interrupting?"_

"Ted! Behind you!"

 _"No need for any pleasantries, then?"_

"Get lost, wise guy. You never saw us."

The crunching of leaves creaked, breaking the temporary silence in the conversation.

"Back off."

 _Crunch._

"Last chance. One more step and you get it."

 _Crunch._

...

...

...

 _"You two work for a mafia? Boy, they accept anybody into their crummy club these days."_

* * *

 **Do remember to leave a review, if you haven't already**


	16. The Beginning

**Sorry for the really long update time, it's an exam week (nope month. Months.), and I can't find much time to write. Also, from this point, the story's rating has been changed from K to M, just in case (Who am I kidding). Anyways, hope this was worth the wait.**

* * *

"You two."

"Who are you?" the leopard growled. His tone was nothing but an empty threat. Nobody could seem like a threat tied up against a sofa.

"Paul, was it?"

"You're making a huge mistake!" the other captive, a wolf, spat.

"No need to mention that, Ted. I already know. Paul and Ted. What innocent names. Maybe you two should've worked in an office. It would've suited you much better."

"You don't know what you're messing with, jaguar!" Ted continued.

"I know exactly what I'm dealing with. You don't."

"You're going to be hunted down for this!"

"Ted. You're a meaningless pawn. You have no ID, no bank account... no _family_. If you _died_ here, _nobody_ will miss you."

The menace in his tone was unmistakable, and the wolf instantly stopped arguing.

"You could always choose to live. Give me answers, and I'll consider it."

* * *

Judy nearly ripped her blankets apart as she shot awake at a noise. Her phone's ringtone was, undeniably, excellent at shattering silence.

"Is this Judy Hopps?" the caller asked. The question immediately raised Judy's suspicion, and her ears perked up.

"Who is this?"

"Remember your friendly neighbourhood jaguar?"

The rabbit's suspicion only spiked at the revelation.

"What do you want?" she asked anyway. He did provide a valuable lead (that was voided).

"I have your leopard. Right outside your house, tranquilised. Better pick him up before he wakes."

Her phone beeped as her caller hung up, leaving her to process the situation. She didn't take long.

"NICK!"

Isaac's room door was flung open, and Nick appeared, eyes wide. He looked shaken, with dark circles around his eyes, and a slightly panicked look. Judy noticed and was immediately stunned, nearly forgetting about the call. For a second or two, she stood rooted, gaping at him.

"Yeah? What?" Nick urged, concealing his tire with a few blinks.

"O-Oh! I need to check outside!" she snapped out of her trance, and continued dashing to the door, and with one precise grab, she burst into the open. The hallway was warmly lit, and would've made a welcoming and calming atmosphere. But a limp object in front of Judy's door ruined any calmness in its surroundings.

It was a body. A body of a leopard.

For a long moment, Judy thought that he was dead, but the slow rise of his chest eased her fears.

"What in the world?" Nick murmured, staring right at the leopard.

"I'll call the Chief. We need to get him to HQ before he wakes."

* * *

"Don't you dare make coffee. You need to sleep," Judy firmly ordered, blocking Nick from entering the kitchen.

"Oh, but how can I be late for work?"

Judy stared at him funny for a while, before shaking her head.

"You're delirious," she stated.

"In what way?"

"We don't have a shift today," Judy stated plainly as she dragged the fox to the dining table.

"Wow. Does that mean we spent all that time yesterday discussing how we're gonna watch Isaac? Anyways, I'm not sleeping yet. Not until fluffy buns there is taken away."

"Hey, did Isaac just sleep through all of this?" Judy asked. Nick's question reminded her of the teen in the house.

"He was sleeping when I ran out," Nick recalled.

"Who's that on the couch?"

Nick could've sworn that he saw Judy's pupils shrink at the voice, and he would have laughed at her look if he wasn't in the current situation.

"We... may or may not have someone tranquilised on our couch right now. And the police may or may not arrive to arrest him," Judy told him flatly.

At this moment, Nick couldn't help but feel somewhat glad that he hadn't consumed anything in the near past. He would've puked it right out at Judy's way of handling the situation.

"What?"

Right at the moment, the doorbell rang.

"Oh! I'll..uh... get the door!" Judy laughed nervously before backing off from the two foxes. Nick glanced at Isaac, who was still staring in Judy's direction, and grabbed his slim chance to slink away.

"Nick?" Isaac caught, and Nick stopped dead in his tracks.

"Yes?" Nick plastered on a smile, turning to face Isaac a little too quickly.

"There's... a sleeping suspect in the living room?"

Nick nodded slowly, painfully maintaining the same smile, that was widening awkwardly without any reason.

"What did he do?" Isaac asked, with a sparkling curiosity that Nick didn't enjoy.

"It's not very... simple," Nick shrugged.

"...you don't know, do you?"

"Nope."

* * *

"So, the suspect just... turned up... tranquillized at your doorstep?" Chief Bogo asked dubiously.

"No, I received a call from someone, and he said that he left 'my leopard' on my doorstep," Judy explained briefly.

"That sounds rather dubious," the buffalo snorted.

"I guess we could find out more when he wakes..." Judy scratched the back of her head.

"Although... This is striking a little close to you. I could assign an officer to you," Chief Bogo offered. The bunny opened her mouth to reject his offer but pinched it shut the moment she thought of Isaac.

"Alright," she accepted reluctantly. Chief Bogo's eyebrows raised ever so slightly at her unexpected reaction, but he didn't comment on it, much to Judy's relief.

"Is Nick in there?" he asked instead.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Figures. You don't look too good. Go get some rest. You're off duty anyway."

"What about the suspect? Don't we need to release him by tomorrow?"

"The new mayor may be a complete numbskull riding on the previous mayors' efforts, but at least he made it easier for us. We can detain suspects associated with organised crime indefinitely."

"Oh," Judy muttered as the Chief left for his cruiser, where another officer was already waiting with the suspect.

* * *

 _Seven down. One to go._

The tiger wiped some sweat from his brow. Seven crates loaded into the truck. One, crate left.

"Come on, Jerry. Last one," he wheezed.

"Hurry up, you two!" the driver yelled from the front, impatiently tapping the windowsill with his claws.

Jerry, a rather hot-headed wolf, grunted, and began lifting the last crate on his own. The tiger soon joined, lifting the box off the ground. The two soon (rather forcefully) loaded the crate onto the truck.

"There, you can go now," the wolf huffed, dusting his hands, making his way towards the entrance, with his partner following close behind. The truck didn't move. Jerry frowned and pounded his fist twice against the truck's side.

"Ya sleepin' or somethin'?" he growled, storming up towards the driver's seat. His partner followed, squinting in suspicion.

"What the..?" the wolf's anger dissolved into shock and he stumbled back, grabbing the pistol he hid in his jacket. Detecting his unrest, the tiger drew his gun, which provided minimal comfort. He soon caught sight of what started the panic. The driver was motionless, and a small hole was present in the truck's windshield.

Somebody shot him.

Jerry heard the noise. The suppressed noise of a shot. A silenced shot. He whirled toward the direction of the noise, pointing his pistol up. A thud sounded as his partner collapsed onto the floor. The wolf gasped, backing against the truck, and frantically staring around to spot the attacker.

" _Over here."_ a voice whispered. The wolf turned up, in shock, just in time to hear another pop before it all went dark.

* * *

 _"What are you doing!? Your brother would've never wanted this!"_

 _"My brother? He would've wanted to live. Don't tell me what he would've wanted."_

 _"You could've just sent the locations to the police! There was no need for this!"_

 _"You see those officers? They are so slow to do anything. And if we told them, and they did do something about it, these murderers get away scot free."_

 _"Who are you to call them murderers!"_

 _"..."_

 _"He would've never wanted this. He just wanted to save as many as possible. This... this is not the way..."_

 _"Can't take any of this back now, can I?"_

 _"It's never too late. There are still four more locations, isn't it? Just let the authorities handle them. Don't kill anyone else."_

 _"..."_

 _"For his sake, okay?"_

 _"... Fine."_

* * *

"Oookay, uh... Do you know how to use this?" Judy asked again.

"Yes," Isaac replied plainly, refraining from rolling his eyes. He never had a phone before, but in this time and age, it was as good as impossible to not know how to use a smartphone. Judy had given him her previous phone, and he had spent the short trip to school in Nick's car adjusting the settings.

"Okay, if anything goes wrong, just call, alright?"

"Okay."

"Alright, I've saved my contact inside as Judy."

"Okay."

"Try not to lose it."

"Okay."

"E..."

"Judy...let the kid go already," Nick snorted, stifling a chuckle.

"Alright," Judy exhaled.

"Bye," Isaac said, before leaving Nick's car. But he only managed to take a step or two when his phone buzzed. Puzzled, he took it out to check it.

 _"Just checking"_

Isaac peered behind him, and spotted Judy waving nervously from the car. He turned back, continuing towards his class as the car drove out of sight.

* * *

The silence in the car didn't last for long. Judy was taking the wheel, as Nick hadn't initially planned on tagging along. But in the end, he didn't really feel too comfortable staying out of reach. Not that he explained that to the rabbit.

"Hey could you check on Isaac again?"

Nick cocked his head at Judy, giving a stare,

"It's been one minute. What could've happened?" Nick asked.

"Well... Just in case..."

"Alright," the fox sighed, taking her phone to make a text.

"What shall I send him?" He asked again.

"I don't know, maybe a dot or something. If he unlocked the phone to see the message, it's fine."

"Okay," Nick smirked. He typed something, and sent it, snickering as he did so.

"Wha... What did you send?" Judy inquired, eyes still locked on the road.

* * *

Isaac could _feel_ his eyes rolling as his phone buzzed again, and he muttered as he reached for his phone again. The message wasn't quite anything that he had expected.

 _"Don't forget to brush your teeth before crossing the road."_


	17. Enemy of your enemy

**Somebody asked about the M rating. Was just following the rating guidelines, and death didn't fall under anything below M, so yeah. I don't intend to include anything sexual, so I guess that's out of the way.**

* * *

"About time," Brandon commented when he saw Isaac's new phone. "I was starting to think that you'd never get one."

"Like as if it was ever my choice," Isaac quipped.

"Do you have any apps?"

"Just the default ones. And I've only touched the messaging system."

"For what?"

"Mostly just to receive junk from Nick," Isaac shrugged.

"Can I see?"

 _"Don't forget to brush your teeth before crossing the road."_

 _"That was Nick."_

 _"This is Judy, I'm a kangaroo."_

 _"Ignore Nick's slanders"_

 _"And enjoy a bottle of vitamin C"_

 _"Nick lovesjfjbeisbensowjend"_

"Wow," Brandon chuckled. "All in the span of 30 minutes?"

"Yup."

 _Buzz._

 _"Hey, foxy."_

 _Buzz._

 _"That was Nick."_

* * *

"Nick! Use your own phone!" Judy said for the thousandth time. "And stop spamming Isaac with weird trash!"

"Oh come on, it was funny," Nick chuckled as Judy shooed him away from her charging phone.

"No," she denied, albeit while trying to stifle an uncontrollable grin.

"You're laughing," he teased.

"You won't be if you try this again!" Her threat became wobbly and spineless as the smile escaped.

"Right. What's his number again?" he asked, whipping out his own phone for the first time in the day. Judy stared at him suspiciously, expecting Nick to bury Isaac under relentless junk messages the moment he got his number.

"Spam him..." Judy started, "...and I will end you."

* * *

"You have nothing to do with the case, and you have zero connections. I don't care what deal you made with Nick, just _get out_ of this cell right _now_ ," Wolford growled, glaring in impatience with an arm holding the cell door open for the third minute.

"Who proved that?" Keith asked plainly, still leaning against the wall of his temporary cell.

"Nick and Judy have been working on the case," the wolf stated, with a (heavy) hint of annoyance in his tone. "Everything they found so far does not connect you to the case in any significant way. Judging by the evidence, you're just a random affected bystander."

"Has Nick even acknowledged that?" Keith asked. Wolford made a face, but choked down any eruptions, and replied.

 _"Yes,"_ he lied, desperate to get the fox to leave.

Keith shrugged, finally leaving the cell.

"Finally," the officer muttered, making his way out, gesturing for Keith to follow.

"Oh by the way, did you catch the suspect?"

"Go ask Nick, and quit pestering me."

* * *

 _"You don't believe me?"_

 _"A little hard to, don't you think?"_

 _"You don't want to believe me either."_

 _"..."_

 _"Nick, I can't blame you for feeling this way. It's mostly my fault."_

 _"I don't want to believe that."_

 _"... what?"_

 _"I don't want to believe that you have anything to do with this."_

 _"..."_

 _"Look, I don't know if you're somehow involved, but... even for you, this feels far-fetched."_

 _"Can't say I'm not glad you think so."_

 _"Dad, how can I tell you aren't involved."_

 _"..."_

 _"..."_

 _"Well Nick, let's make a simple deal. Until you can prove that I am unrelated, I will remain here."_

 _"A deal?"_

 _"You sound rather sceptical. Don't you know that lying is bad for business? I keep my deals."_

 _"You said it, don't vanish from your cell like nothing ever happened."_

 _"Heh. If I wanted to, you wouldn't see me here right now."_

 _"Escaping from a cell? That's even more far-fetched than the night howler problem."_

 _"Hey, I made a deal. Can't escape now, can I? Anyway, don't you have anything better to do?"_

 _"Not really, no."_

 _"..."_

 _"..."_

 _"That kid... er... whatshisname?"_

 _"Isaac."_

 _"Right. Adopted?"_

 _"Nah. Judy's just taking care of him while his parent serves time."_

 _"Gee, how long."_

 _"Not sure. They haven't even started the trial yet. Chief says that it'd be longer than five years."_

 _"Yikes. Manslaughter?"_

 _"What? No. She just stole thousands of dollars, evaded arrest... er... Lots of other stuff too. Can't remember them all."_

 _"(Poor kid.)"_

 _"What?"_

 _"Didn't say anything."_

* * *

"Hey, Nick."

 _"Oh. Hey, Keith. How'd you get your phone back?"_

"Our dear officers forced me out of the cell. They said you proved that I'm innocent, but I think they're just really desperate to chase me off."

 _"We did find evidence that says so. Well, sort of. Any evidence we found had completely no link to you."_

"Where are you? The receptionist told me that you two weren't in the station."

 _"Oh, we're off duty. Where are you going now that you're out?"_

"I have an apartment down in Tundra Town. I could always go back there."

 _"You have a job?"_

"Not an official one. I just buy stocks and trade goods."

 _"That bought you an apartment?"_

"I can buy another small apartment if I want to. Been successful with trades so far."

 _"Except your latest, of course."_

"Very funny. You solved the case yet?"

 _"No, why?"_

"Wow, some case you have there."

 _"Yep."_

"Are you with Judy?"

 _"I'm at her apartment, but she left the house. She said she wanted to watch Issac."_

"How? By walking in and sitting in his class?"

 _"No idea. Hopefully, she doesn't."_

"Maybe she's staking out the school."

 _"That sounds like her. That really sounds like her."_

"Heh. Can she even see the kid without entering the school?"

* * *

Judy squinted to see Isaac in his classroom. Although she was seated in a cafe beside the school, the school had wide windows, and she could easily see Isaac's class. If she ignored the trees in between. The plants served as a fine view from the cafe, but it did obstruct the view of the school from the cafe. It was probably for the best. It was just not the best thing at the moment.

She could vaguely see Issac. To her annoyance, he was constantly talking to an otter that was seated beside him. She wasn't the quietest student in school, but the scene still didn't fail to irk her. Mainly because there was nothing she could do about it. Mentioning it in front of Isaac would be... strange. The last thing that he needed to know was how she was spying on him through the cafe beside the school.

The lesson ended. The teacher said something and walked out of the class. Total pandemonium followed the moment the educator stepped out of sight. The students were mostly on their feet, and Judy could've sworn that she saw a football sailing across the classroom.

"What in the world...?" she couldn't help but mutter. _Students. Just student things._

Her focus returned to the fox... who was still talking to the otter. And yet, something about the otter seemed vaguely familiar. And then it hit her.

"Brandon Otterton," she recalled, murmuring his name. _What a coincidence_. She turned to take a small sip from her drink, which she purchased just to stick inside the cafe when her eye caught something else.

"So you finally see me," a familiar voice stated plainly.

"What are you doing here?" Judy asked suspiciously, toning down her volume to avoid attention.

"Well Hopps, I'm here to deliver a present," the jaguar rose. He wore a remarkably dark pair of shades, and Judy wondered if he could see through them at all. He was dressed in his usual dark jacket, with his usual smile.

"Your first 'gift' didn't turn out well, and your last one attracted quite a mess. What's this gift now?" the rabbit crossed her arms, her brows furrowed.

"Well, how good this gift is, depends on how you use it," he said, reaching into his jacket. The feline produced a piece of paper, with two scribbled locations.

"What's this?" Judy asked, reading the addresses with apprehension.

"There are two setups where the night howler production and trade take place," the jaguar explained, suppressing his voice. "There they are."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you helping us?"

"Personal reasons."

"There are so many questions... I don't even know your name," Judy mentioned.

"Names. Heh. You have some imagination. You can invent something to call me."

"Fine. But what about everything else?"

"Like what?"

"Like _Jasmine_. She wormed her way out of her arrest and didn't give us any leads. Now it's like she's not even related. Why did you tell us to look at her?"

"Wormed her way out?" the jaguar chuckled. "I didn't tell you to look at her. I said that she 'can help'. I guess she refused to."

"What is her relation in this?"

"All you need to know is that she's on my side."

"She was experimenting on a live animal the last I checked. What exactly does that achieve for 'your side'?" Judy pressed, getting more and more suspicious.

"You're fighting to stop the night howler trade here. We're fighting the operation itself. What we're doing, is our business."

"Well, I'm quite sure it is a basic right to not be experimented on. It's my business now."

"Nice to know. Maybe you could try pursuing us after your case. You wouldn't want to make a new enemy before your current one is still going strong."

"Is that a _threat?_ "

The jaguar didn't reply and just smiled, taking off his shades. His eyes were calmly shut, and he turned to face the window.

"All I can say is..." he started. "...you help me, I help you. But if you want to waste your energy chasing me or Jasmine, we can very easily disappear, and you would be left alone with your crime syndicate, with no idea about anything or anyone. Just make your choice, and I can arrange that."

"You're in a public cafe in daylight. You can't escape here smoothly even if you wanted to," Judy warned, one paw feeling the taser that she had brought.

"Welp," the jaguar grunted. His eyes snapped open, and briefly, Judy flinched at the sight of them, grabbing her taser.

 _"Your loss."_

With a flick of his hand, a dark powder was flung into her face, momentarily blinding her. Judy gasped, both paws retracting instinctively to clear her vision. The jaguar's leaving silhouette went from clarity into a blur. She shot out of her seat, pushing through random obstacles, rushing towards the exit. Murmurs of shock and anger hit Judy's ears, but she didn't react. The rabbit burst out of the cafe, rubbing her now red eyes. Her vision cleared slowly, and the few people walking about the street came into full view. Judy blinked multiple times, trying to suppress the itch and concentrate on her task.

But, he was gone.


	18. Broad Daylight

"Are you _nuts?_ "

"What?"

"Did you honestly just try to arrest a _jaguar?_ " Nick repeated, treating her as if she didn't get the point.

"I've arrested way more threatening species," Judy huffed.

"We know nothing about that guy. Only that he somehow went against two armed members of a mafia, and beat them both up barehanded without even receiving a _scratch_."

"Oh come on, that has to be an exaggeration," the rabbit argued. "We didn't even hear the actual interrogation. What we heard was from _Ben._ "

"Look," Nick sighed, suppressing a hiss of frustration. She still didn't get it. So he tried it in a way that she would understand. "He was a source of leads. And now he's gone."

"Leads? You have to be joking, none of his leads has done anything! Except for the leopard, which hardly revealed anything either."

"Wait. Rewind. You mentioned something about some paper he gave you," Nick paused.

"What? This?" Judy gently pulled out. Despite her doubt in the new information, she still wasn't willing to lose it.

"Yes, that. Lemme see it," Nick beckoned with a paw. Judy handed the piece of paper over, suddenly keen on knowing what he had to say about it. It was a simple piece of paper. Despite Judy's care with it, the paper was already riddled with creases and wrinkles. Nick assumed that that was the condition that she had received it in. Although the paper had seen better, the text on it was clearly, but rather chaotically, written. Nick did recognise the two locations. They were somehow ideal in their own ways. Both were isolated and pretty much abandoned. One was in Tundra town, and the other was in another district. Not the most common district of all. After all, the Marsh district was a newly established district, and the mammals that weren't too used to the area were never too excited about the environment there. Or the rumours of uncontrollable crocodiles.

"Anything about it?"

"No. We might want to report it. After all, he did say that those were the establishments."

"What if it's a trap of some kind?"

"He gave bad leads before. But he's never given a trap," the fox muttered, still scrutinising the locations.

"We don't even know his name, how can we trust anything he says?"

"Judy, names can do a lot of harm. If you didn't know my name, I wouldn't have been hustled by you all that time ago. If he doesn't want to give a name, that's understandable," Nick shrugged. A buzz interrupted their conversation.

"You'd better check that," Nick gestured at Judy's pocket. "Never know if it's important."

"It's from Ben..." Judy read. It wasn't even a split second when her eyes widened at whatever the cheetah sent. "Nick, we need to go to the headquarters. _Now!_ "

* * *

"I never really liked the rabbit anyway. She was literally stalking me the first time I saw her."

"Well, it might be an issue if the police don't deal with those establishments."

"They would. Judy is ridiculous, but she does deal with as many leads as she can."

"Well, Nick probably would've gotten assassinated if it weren't for me. I don't see how Fluffybuns would even make it through this week."

"So you're still going to watch her house?"

"Yep. It gives an excuse to pick a fight with anyone that dares come by."

"Better catch them. If they leak the word about you, we're both dead."

"Have a little hope, I wrecked their entire month's batch of serum. I'm pretty sure the Mafia is after my head now. And I'm still alive."

"Rubbish. They know nothing about you."

"They would find out one day."

"Maybe you've forgotten. _Who is left to find out?_ I don't get it, how do you even sleep peacefully after that attack?"

"It's been a long time since I've last had a good night's sleep. This won't change a thing."

" _We're trying to save lives._ "

"Maybe it's time to think about which lives _you're_ trying to save."

* * *

"Wow. I did not expect you to be here this quickly," Benjamin stared dubiously at the pair entering through the front doors. "Nick isn't even in uniform..."

"Yeah, I doubt that matters. Where is the suspect?" Judy asked.

"Third room. He's still waiting," the cheetah answered. But Judy definitely wasn't waiting anymore. Soon, she was a simple blur, and soon after, there was hardly a trace of her.

"What'd you send her? She didn't even tell me all the way here," Nick inquired.

"The leopard broke... Sort of. He said that he'd only speak to Judy."

"Judy? What does he have to do with Judy?"

"Don't know. It all seems pretty sudden."

"I don't trust this. Something's wrong." Nick muttered, making his way after the rabbit. A sense of dread lingered, and it seemed as though Nick was the only one able to sense it. Was it... _Instinct?_ The way to the interrogation rooms was a brisk one, but even then, the interrogation had already begun when Nick was there.

"Your recorder. The guard," the leopard stated plainly. His request was clear. Judy turned to look at the officer at the door. Fangmire was standing guard, staring at the leopard cautiously. The leopard was cuffed and muzzled, and he was hunched, eyes half shut and facing the floor, but even then, he still looked threatening, and it certainly did not feel too safe around him. Fangmire shifted his glance to Judy briefly after the leopard's request and hesitated slightly when she nodded. He finally left, though rather reluctantly, leaving the rabbit alone with the leopard.

"The recorder is off," Judy urged. The leopard shuddered, still facing down.

"You know, I never thought that I'd meet you in person," the leopard started. His voice was unnervingly deep and throaty, and Judy couldn't help but think that he was gargling marbles to produce the tone.

"Why did you request for me?" Judy replied, starting on the subject straight away. Nick, Chief Bogo and Officer Fangmire looked on from outside the panel. Nick's worry seemed to spread, and it itched away at all three officers. Something was wrong. Not just in the situation. Something was wrong with the _leopard._ Judy had claimed that the recorder was off, but the room never had a recorder. The recorder was outside the room, beyond the one-way mirror, where the conversation still could be heard.

"Well, Hopps. You're one of a kind. And right now, you're just who I want to see."

"Is that all you wanted to tell me?" Judy asked, frowning slightly as the leopard shuddered again.

"No. Have you even wondered how I turned up on your doorstep?"

"A source tranquilised you and dumped you there," the rabbit replied matter-of-factly.

"But you don't know how he got me."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Heh," the leopard exhaled sharply, shuddering again.

"Something's wrong," Nick whispered, clenching his fist as he stepped forward slightly.

"You don't look good. Are you feeling unwell?" Judy asked, standing up in alarm as the leopard broke into a fit of heavy coughing.

"He's... chewing something," Nick noticed, getting more and more unnerved. Chief Bogo and Officer Fangmire were no less jumpy. Something was definitely wrong.

The leopard chuckled, leaning forward against the table, rising out of his chair slightly. He was still hunched over, panting slightly. Judy hesitated, unsure of what to do next.

" **Officer** ," the leopard growled. His voice had completely changed. The growl seemed completely devoid of any personality or sanity... a _wild_ growl. His paws slammed on the table, the muzzle tumbling off his face, and he looked up at her. Everyone froze. The cuffs were broken.

 _"You were the easiest... **target**."_

And those were his last words. He... _It_ roared, and pounced, jaws wide open, going straight for Judy.

" _Go! Go!"_ Bogo yelled, though there wasn't a need. Nick and Fangmire were already rushing into the interrogation room.

Judy reacted the moment it pounced, grabbing the legs of her chair and slamming it on the leopard, before sliding under the table. The wild animal crashed into the chair, missing Judy, and barrelled into the wall, disoriented for a second or two. By that time, any chances of a second attack were removed. A yowl of pain was heard as Nick jammed a taser straight into the side of the leopard's neck, and a whine escaped the fainting beast as Bogo and Fangmire charged into and onto it, with Bogo clamping the leopard's jaws shut. There was no more struggling as the animal fell unconscious.

"He's... savage," Judy murmured shortly after the silence.

"We'll get him to the medical centre. He can be cured there," Bogo stated plainly, grabbing the muzzle from the mess in the room. He stared at the pair of broken cuffs on the floor and back at the leopard. "He better be."

* * *

"Why a cafe?" Finnick asked. "They rip you off more than Nick does."

"Well, figured Judy would be in there. Nick said that she was spying on Isaac," Keith replied. Finnick grunted as he made a turn. Isaac's school came into view, with the cafe beside it.

"Isaac? You mean that kid?"

"Yes. You didn't know?"

"Of course I knew. Just not good at names. Nick was always the names guy."

"And you were always the disguises guy?" Keith teased.

"Yes, so what?" Finnick asked as he found a parking lot.

"Must be easy to look... young. Nick told me you get pulled over for being underaged," Keith chuckled.

"Hey old man, I can throw you right out pretty easily," Finnick mockingly threatened.

"Come on, let's go already," Keith urged, beginning to let himself out of the now stationary vehicle. "I'm hungry."

"Wait a second, what's going on over there?" Finnick halted, grabbing Keith's arm, pointing at a scene out in front of the school. A white car was parked right on the pavement in front of the school, but more alarmingly, there seemed to be some kind of scuffle at the school gate.

"What the heck is going on there?" Keith echoed Finnick's question, squinting at the gate. At the angle, they couldn't see much, but the situation became clear soon enough. A deer and a wolf were storming into the white car. The deer was tightly carrying a struggling young fox.

 _"That's Isaac!"_ Keith yelled, rushing out the van, charging toward the scene.

 _"Keith wait!"_ Finnick yelled after him, hopping out of the van. The daylight burned his vision for a slight moment, but when his vision cleared, it wasn't any more comfortable. The wolf had a pistol pointed right at a group of students and a teacher, who was standing protectively in front of them.

"Step closer, and I shoot," the wolf growled. Keith ground to a halt, staring haplessly as the deer shoved Isaac into the car's backseat before entering himself and shutting the door. The moment Isaac and the deer was in the car, the wolf opened a front door, and got in. The car jerked into action and drove off.

"Come on! We can catch up to them!"

"Lemme call Nick!" Keith yelled back, rushing back towards the van, where Finnick already was in. The vehicle started moving a short moment before he entered and rode at full speed the moment he did.

* * *

"Clawhauser, what is it?" Chief Bogo answered, picking up the wired phone on his desk.

"Chief! There were multiple calls!"

"Calls about what?"

"Somebody nabbed a student from a school gate and ran off in a car!"

"Which school is it?" The buffalo demanded to know, alarmed by such an outbreak. The door to the Chief's office burst open, much to the occupant's anger. It was Nick and Judy, and their expressions easily put off whatever anger he had at their intrusion.


	19. Quick Resolution

**Sorry that this one's shorter than usual. Been busy.**

* * *

"We got the kid."

Isaac blinked in confusion as his surroundings spun more. He wanted nothing more than to just fall asleep, but something was keeping him up. Something instinctive.

"Yea, we drugged him. What? How did we get him this early?"

The fox shifted in discomfort, struggling to stand from his seat, but soon collapsed back onto where he started thanks to his nausea and the moving vehicle he was in. He couldn't really think, and he couldn't really feel either.

"Oh, we snagged him from his school gate."

Isaac could make out a blurry movement from the front seats. Like someone flinching from something he was holding against his ear.

"What? Er...yea... a bunch of students and a teacher saw it."

Another flinch. Isaac could make out a noise. Like someone screaming through a phone. The fox mumbled something even he couldn't hear, and within a second, he forgot what he had intended to say.

"Just dart him and release him? Where?"

Another loud voice from the phone. This time, Isaac could identify the words.

 _"ANYWHERE."_

"Someone's following us, though."

Another order was screeched through the phone. Isaac forced his eyes fully open. His headache got even more painful, and his eyes instinctively narrowed again. Light felt painful, and his eyes felt like they were rolling in opposite directions.

Heck, his entire _head_ felt like it was rolling around in a jar.

Someone grabbed his left arm and rolled up his sleeve. Isaac growled, turning his head toward the wrong direction. Something thin and sharp was jabbed into his upper arm and hastily removed. The fox hissed, and lashed out. His right claw connected with something. He heard a yell about the car's expensive seats. He felt himself being lifted off the seat, onto some other warm object. Someone's arms. He struggled, biting at nothing.

A screech put a halt to his efforts, causing his head to bend downwards as the entire vehicle jerked forward.

"Get him out now!"

Suddenly, the fox couldn't feel anything around him. Just passing air. Then he connected heavily with the ground. He heard another screech as the car drove off, leaving him on a patch of grass.

Somewhere.

Whatever kept him awake began to stop exerting its force.

* * *

"Call Judy, I'll get the kid," Keith requested, leaving the van, running towards the grass beside the road. Finnick had followed the car with his van, all the way into the edge of the Rain Forest district. All the way until the kidnappers stopped, and literally threw Isaac out onto the grass before taking off again. Keith suppressed a curse as he saw Isaac limp on the ground, and increased his speed. He soon reached the fox, and leant down, pressing his head against Isaac's chest.

Keith sighed in relief.

The kid was breathing normally. In fact, it sounded like he was asleep. Perhaps they drugged him. It wasn't the greatest situation, but at least, maybe, he wasn't unconscious.

"Yea. We have him. He... er... seems fine. He looks like he's sleeping," Finnick told Judy through the phone.

 _"Where are you now?"_

"We'll be heading back towards the police department. You two stay put."

 _"Nick is chasing the culprit. Only I'm here."_

"Well. Stay put anyway. We'll be there soon."

 _"O...Okay..."_

"Is she faring okay?" Keith asked from the back of the van. Isaac looked half awake.

"Forget her, is the kid okay?" Finnick stared dubiously as Isaac fell asleep and woke up again for the second time within the mere minute he was in the van.

"Yea... I think they drugged him with analgesic or something," Keith mentioned.

"He looks high and drunk."

"You have no idea what analgesic is, do you?"

"Sorry I don't know your fancy words," Finnick snorted, dismissing the subject and starting the van.

"What's the weather now?" Isaac mumbled, still half awake.

"I think I'm starting to know what analgesic is."

* * *

"Clawhauser, what's the status?" Bogo enjoined through his walkie-talkie.

 _"The car's in Tundra Town. Once you pass from the Rainforest District to Tundra Town, follow the main street until the traffic junction. Turn left at that point."_

"Alright, Wilde, you heard him. Let's pick up the pace," the Chief said, briefly glancing at the cruiser behind his.

 _"Aye,"_ Nick replied through his hand-held device.

 _"Wait."_

"What is it, Wilde?"

 _"Tundra Town... Judy showed me a list of the addresses of some of the bases of the mafia's night howler operation. We were gonna show it to you, but then this situation and the leopard thing distracted us."_

"Get to the point."

 _"One of the bases is in Tundra Town. This might not be a good idea to follow anymore."_

"Why do you people leave these details last," the buffalo growled, hesitating as he thought of his next move.

"Nick, Wolfred, get out of your cruiser and get in mine. We'll try and map out the place. Everyone else, turn around. "

* * *

"They kidnapped Isaac!" Jasmine stormed into the lab, with her statement laced with a hint of accusation. The jaguar lounging on a sofa got up, sighing.

"Well. The rabbit _really_ didn't seem happy with my help."

"We have to do something!"

"This was a really bold move, even for the mafia. I can't imagine why they'd pull off such a stupid act."

"Does it matter now? The child is in danger!"

"Relax. I got it covered," the jaguar persuaded one paw fishing around his jacket's pocket. He soon produced a phone and opened an application.

"What are you doing?" the arctic fox stared in suspicion.

"I guessed that this would happen. So I put hooked into the kid's new phone."

"You turned his phone into a tracking device?"

"Yes. He's..." the jaguar paused, raising an eyebrow as he stared at his phone screen.

"What? What is it?"

"He's rescued already. Somebody's taking him back to the police headquarters," he grunted, settling back down on the sofa.

"What? How was he rescued, the kidnappers had such a long head start."

"Well, I'd say it was some screw-up. The mafia was never this careless. I guess some of their underlings were just being really stupid. The kidnap was probably supposed to happen in... ya know, a _not_ so public place?"

"Well, you did take out quite a number of them..."

"Not this again, I thought we resolved that."

"I know. I wasn't implying anything. Anyway, the prevention is mostly ready. It should work in most cases."

"Well. That's your call. You're the one responsible for its distribution."

* * *

Judy had never truly envisioned herself to be a failure with a kid. It had always felt so natural to interact with her younger siblings. And she was doing fine with Isaac too. Until now, that was. Nothing could describe the magnitude of her guilt. She received threats targeted at Isaac, and yet she continued to pursue her case, like as if it was the most important thing in the world.

But was it?

She sat on the floor silently, watching Isaac stir around in his disturbed sleep. He was half awake. In the dark, Judy could periodically make out a bit of a green tint when he opened his eyes slightly every so often.

 _Great job, Judy. Of all things, you screwed this up. He's never going to forgive you for choosing your job over him. You're not just dumb. You're outright idiotic. What the heck were you thinking?_

"Beautiful sunrise," a voice distracted her from her thoughts.

"What?" Judy replied, noting that Isaac was leaning up, and staring out a window, seemingly awake.

"Look at it rising..."

"Isaac, that's the moon," the rabbit corrected meekly.

"That's a sun too right?"

 _He's nuts now. The doctor said he'd be fine after a few hours, but he's completely nuts now. Thanks to me._

Judy sighed, holding back on any tears that were trying to trickle out. She shivered slightly, feeling a slight chill.

"Sorry..." she murmured unintentionally, flinching as the word escaped her mouth. Judy tensed as she looked up, back at Isaac on his mattress.

"Wha'cha apologising for?" he asked, eyes still trained on the window. Judy hesitated, momentarily thinking that he was somehow...sober.

"Everything..."

"Everything that was great?" Isaac asked, head falling back to his pillow.

"What?" Judy asked back, unable to help herself from taking his question as sarcasm.

"Everything's great," the fox yawned, staring at the ceiling. Judy hesitated for a while more, she found herself snickering half-heartedly at the situation.

"It's not great, you're so...so... drugged that you're acting half crazy," she stated, holding her forehead with a paw. Isaac turned to stare at her, and Judy shuddered at his expression. It was so... calm. Like nothing ever happened.

"Heh. I am so high right now."

"You're... you're not..." Judy caught herself laughing weakly, and crying at the same time. The first of her tears squeezed their way out, and soon, the rest followed bead by bead.

"I... I've failed you. I can't even... take care of you," she inhaled, one paw shielding her face from Isaac. "I..."

"Shhh," Isaac shushed, closing his eyes, and facing the ceiling once again. "Everything's fine, Mom. Everything's great."


	20. Hunger Pains

Hunger.

 _Burning_ hunger.

Isaac slowly shifted out of his sleep, taking sharp breaths. His stomach was flaring with a kind of fire. He had never felt that hungry recently. An especially sharp feel caused him to sit up, grabbing his torso. He glanced at a nearby wall clock.

4 am.

He got out of his mattress, his craving for some kind of food growing stronger as his mind came into full consciousness. He blinked. Something was lying on the floor beside his mattress. _Someone._

 _Judy._

 _What happened?_

Isaac rubbed his head, trying hard to remember. He couldn't recall a thing. He just felt hungry. Isaac felt certain that if he opened his mouth and exhaled, flames would exit instead of air. And yet, something was stopping him from moving. Apart from confusion, he felt something else staring at the rabbit. Not something that he wanted to feel.

And then, he heard something.

Sniffing.

 _His sniffing._

He grabbed his muzzle, shaking his head violently. His eyes refocused on Judy. She was sound asleep. She didn't see, and hopefully didn't hear any of it.

 _You're just really hungry. That's it. Just... grab something from the kitchen..._

Isaac stumbled toward the door, careful to avoid stepping on the sleeping rabbit, before finally reaching it. He placed a paw on the knob and twisted. An especially shrill screech was heard has the knob turned, and he pulled the door open silently. The cold atmosphere of his air conditioned room left, and he felt a wave of hot air hit hard. Nothing like a hot night to go with hunger pains. The way to the kitchen seemed long. By the time he made it, he was already bent double. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead, and his hands shook without any consent from their master.

Cupboard.

Fried snacks. Instant noodles. Cereal.

He shut the cupboard, without even thinking twice.

Fridge.

A light turned on as he opened the cooler, causing him to flinch from the sudden contrast from the pitch black from before.

Carrots.

Lettuce.

Tomato.

Juice.

Something wrapped in tinfoil.

Eggs.

 _Eggs._

He found himself grabbing as many of the chicken eggs that he could carry. His mind felt numb. Something else was moving his limbs. He roughly dumped them on a table. One of the eggs cracked. A transparent liquid leaked from the fissures in its shell. He didn't notice, and he didn't care. He seized one of the eggs, and held it between his teeth, swiftly and sharply cracking its shell between two canine teeth. He poured whatever came out down his throat, before tossing the shell away. The burning in his stomach quelled a little. Just a little.

He did the same with another egg. His hunger died down a little more.

And another.

And another.

The taste was somehow completely bland. He couldn't taste the fluids going down his throat. The kitchen floor was soon littered with eggshells, illuminated by the light from the open fridge.

Isaac grabbed the final egg. The one with the fissure. It felt slimy. Slippery and... _gross._

The fox shuddered, dropping the egg as his paw shook violently. It dropped onto the floor, splitting apart, spilling its contents all over the floor. His thoughts flooded back. His eyes widened, and he shivered. The kitchen was a mess. Egg shells were all over the floor, with bits of egg yolk, and egg white splattered all over the place. A pop was heard, causing Isaac to nearly jump right out of his skin. The open fridge's magnet finally managed to shut the opening. The darkness fell back into place momentarily before Isaac's eyes readjusted and his night vision kicked in. Same mess. A strange, revolting taste started to fill his mouth, causing the fox to shudder.

The taste of raw eggs.

 _What just happened...? Was I... that hungry...?_

Isaac expelled the thoughts, processing his next action.

 _Judy. She can't see this. She can't..._

His legs jerked into action. He knew where the cleaning supplies were. And he knew he had to clear the mess.

* * *

Judy groaned. She had never felt so groggy. Not in a long time. Despite her sometimes hectic work schedule, she still managed to squeeze in some sleep. She forced herself up, rubbing her forehead. Light from the sun shone right into the room through the blinds, which had seemingly failed their purpose. Her arm and back felt sore, mostly from being pressed against the floor for so long.

Floor.

She was still in Isaac's room.

Judy shot right up, turning to face Isaac. The room seemed to spin sharply for a moment as her dizziness followed her. Blinking in confusion, she tried her best to focus on fox, who was lying in bed.

 _Please be asleep._

One look and she could easily tell that he wasn't sleeping. He was tensed up in a way, and his torso barely rose as he breathed.

He was pretending to sleep.

A pang of guilt stabbed Judy right in the heart. She opened her mouth slightly, but shut it, unsure of what to say.

 _You can't just say nothing!_

Judy shut her eyes, and her mouth struggled to open as she processed the words to use.

"A...Are you hungry?"

 _What. What was that? He got kidnapped and the first thing you ask when he wakes up is..._

"Oh! Erm... No," Isaac suddenly blurted out, shifting a little, still facing away from her. Judy bent down a little, starting to get worried. Was he still under the drug?

"Are you... feeling okay?" She asked.

"Yes," he replied, a little too quickly.

"Are you sure that you're not hungry? At all? You didn't eat anything for the whole of last night," Judy highlighted.

"Oh... Er... Alright," Isaac sat up, still facing down. The rabbit couldn't help but feel surprised. There was completely zero hints showing any reaction to yesterday's... event. If anything, he just seemed a little (or very) weirded out by something. Probably just her presence.

"I'll...prepare something for you," Judy finished, before leaving the room.

* * *

 _Somehow... He seemed... strange._

Judy made her way towards the kitchen, taking small steps.

 _Food didn't even seem close to any of his thoughts._

 _He doesn't even seem to be thinking straight... The drug couldn't have lasted that long, could it? It should've worn off last night._

She turned on the sink in the kitchen, letting the water splatter onto her paws.

 _Is it some sort of... trauma...?_

She shuddered at the thought.

 _Calm down. Don't jump to conclusions..._

She twisted the knob on the sink, shutting the stream of water off.

She leant against the sink, taking a moment to shake off the worries threatening to grip on to her.

 _He's probably starving. Maybe I should just make another omelette or something..._

She opened the fridge, with one paw blindly grabbing for an egg. All she grabbed was air.

 _...?_

Judy opened the fridge door more, peering at the eggs compartment.

There were no eggs left.

 _What...? I could've sworn there were way more than enough!_

She hissed in frustration, slamming the fridge door.

 _Great. Another screwup. Just, great._

 _Perfect._

Only one thing left that was viable for breakfast. She went to the kitchen cabinet, where she knew a box or two of cereal was. She had bought them in anticipation for a late day or the like when she wouldn't have the time to make breakfast.

But she never had a late day.

 _Well, it isn't expired..._

 _yet._

 _I guess it'll have to do..._

She stepped forward, reaching for the dish cabinet above the sink. It was high up. Hard to reach. How it got up there in the first place...

 _Nick, what the heck were you doing with my bowl?_

She huffed, and jumped, grabbing the bowl off the top in a clean grab. She turned towards the sink again, grumbling, when her eyes caught something in a corner.

 _Is that... an egg shell?_

Judy put the bowl in the sink, bending down to take a closer look. She reached out, lifting the shell up. Only half of it was left, and some translucent, slimy egg white dripped slowly from it.

 _How did this get here? Did I really forget to stock up on the eggs?_

 _But, nobody else is here, and why would Isaac throw the eggs away?_

* * *

 _"Judy, u there?"_

 _"Yes."_

 _"Oh, you're finally up."_

 _"Says Nick Wilde."_

 _"Anyways, how's Isaac?"_

 _"Idk. He's acting pretty weird."_

 _"Weird how?"_

 _"He doesn't even seem to remember anything about yesterday... And he's been acting pretty suspiciously."_

 _"Suspicious?"_

 _"Idk, it just looks like he's jumpy, somehow? He just... Really reminds me of those suspects we hold in the interrogation room."_

 _"That bad?"_

 _"Maybe he's hiding something?"_

 _"Maybe it's just some sort of aftershock."_

 _"Yeah...maybe. Did you guys catch the kidnappers?"_

 _"No, we traced them back to wherever they were going though."_

 _"Anything interesting?"_

 _"It's just a warehouse on the outside, but we couldn't get in. Couldn't risk it. It was one of the locations the jaguar gave though."_

 _"What's gonna happen now?"_

 _"Special forces. Bogo called them in. They already mobilized last night."_

 _"Oh? That was... Fast."_

 _"I wasn't there when they did it though. Bogo told me to go back to the HQ and leave it to them."_

 _"What about the second location?"_

 _"The locations were simultaneously raided."_

 _"Oh. Wow. Does that mean the case is closed? That easily?"_

 _"Hey, just because you weren't part of the special forces doesn't mean that it was easy."_

 _"It all seems so... Abrupt. That's all there is? Nothing else?"_

 _"Well, hopefully Clawhauser can come up with something about it soon. You just stay put for now. Nothing for you to do yet."_

 _"Except reports."_

 _"Shoot. Those. Welp, guess you can do those at home. Maybe do my part while you're at it?"_

 _"Your part is already easier -.-"_

 _"OK. Anyways, take care. I'm gonna go meet Finnick and Keith."_

 _"Oh! Tell them I said hi."_

 _"Ok. Bb"_

* * *

"Well. Looks like the authorities did solve it."

"Told you. Zootopia's law enforcement is a lot better than that in the Bunny Burrows."

"Less corrupt."

"More efficient. The western bunny burrows is just plain ridiculous. It's so huge, and yet the law is enforced by a sherif."

"Well. We can move on to our next plan now. It shouldn't be too hard."

"Sure it wouldn't. But...remember the kid?"

"Who, Isaac?"

"Yes."

"What about him?"

"He was kidnapped for a moment... Then released? What if they injected it into him?"

"That can't be right, it's instant."

"Yea. I guess so..."

"Well. Make your last preparations. We leave tomorrow."

"And where are you going now?"

"One last check on their operations. I want to see exactly what happened."

* * *

 _What was I doing?_

The question remained stuck in his mind, repeating itself over and over, each time failing to get an answer.

It took quite some time to sweep, mop and wipe the floor clean of eggshells, and it took even longer to wash the disgusting taste of raw eggs from his mouth. There was cereal, there were snacks. Why did he randomly prefer raw eggs?

And why couldn't he stop himself from eating them?

 _Get up. There's no way you can sleep anymore_.

Standing up was a simple task. He had been awake for way too long to feel lethargic. He was way too paranoid to feel lethargic.

Quite frankly, he had expected himself to vomit or get some sort of abdominal distress from the raw eggs. But right now, he felt completely nothing off. Except hunger.

 _More hunger_.

He reached his paw out to grab the door handle, but his eyes caught something, stopping him midway. The knob had scratch marks.

 _Deep_ scratch marks. Embedded around the knob, just at the back edge. Hard to notice, but still noticeable.

Just another unsettling piece of evidence of his night journey.

He heard something. Something unsettling. It sounded like someone shaking a maraca.

But it didn't take long for him to really pinpoint what the noise was. He gulped.

It sounded like cereal falling into a bowl.

And yet, why was he able to hear it?

 _Something's just in the back of my head. Nothing big._

Isaac shook off the worry and opened the door, stepping into the living room. What he saw next was far from comforting.

"Sorry, Isaac, we ran out of eggs," Judy apologised. "Is cereal okay?"

He had clearly heard Judy pouring cereal behind a closed door several metres away.

"Are you okay, Isaac?"

 _Hide it._

"Y...yeah. I'm fine."


End file.
